Cowley County Water Quality: 2 Cities Ranked by the Records

Name: Cowley County Water Quality Data (2026)
Creator: PurityMap
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cowley County, Kansas: 2 city reports built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.

Find my system Open on the map Private wells in Cowley County

Across the county's systems

Highest result for each contaminant

One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024) · US EPAHighest4.4 ng/L

ARKANSAS CITY, CITY OF4.4 ng/LSample date: 2023-09-06 to 2024-01-03
WINFIELD, CITY OFNot detected · below 4.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-07-12 to 2024-04-10

LithiumDetected in 1 system of 2 tested10 µg/L EPA health reference level (screening, not a legal limit) · US EPAHighest9.1 µg/L

ARKANSAS CITY, CITY OF9.1 µg/LSample date: 2023-07-11 to 2024-01-03
WINFIELD, CITY OFNot detected · below 9.0 µg/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-07-12 to 2024-04-10

Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested10 ng/L federal MCL (2024) · US EPAHighest3.4 ng/L

ARKANSAS CITY, CITY OF3.4 ng/LSample date: 2023-09-06 to 2024-01-03
WINFIELD, CITY OFNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-07-12 to 2024-04-10

Lead (90th percentile)Detected in 2 systems15 µg/L federal action level · US EPAHighest3.2 µg/L

WINFIELD, CITY OF3.2 µg/LMonitoring period: 2022–2024
ARKANSAS CITY, CITY OF1.1 µg/LMonitoring period: 2022–2024

27 PFAS tested, none detected in any systemShow

Tested in these 2 systems: ARKANSAS CITY, CITY OF, WINFIELD, CITY OF

11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)
Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)

2 cities

Cities ranked by the records

1
WinfieldWINFIELD, CITY OF
No PFAS detectedLead below action level
Open city report →
2
Arkansas CityARKANSAS CITY, CITY OF
PFAS sample above a limitLead below action level
Open city report →

Showing 2 of 2 cities · scores are system-level, not tap tests

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.

PFAS in Cowley County1 of 2 city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit

Arkansas City4.4 ng/L

4.0 ng/L federal MCL · PFOS, ng/LPFAS in Kansas

Lead

0of 2 cities above the 15 µg/L action level

Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.

Lead in Kansas

Who supplies the county

Largest water systems

Arkansas CityARKANSAS CITY, CITY OF · KS2003509
11,929 served
WinfieldWINFIELD, CITY OF · KS2003513
11,726 served

Questions

Frequently asked

How does Cowley County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 2 cities in Cowley County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Winfield's main water system: WINFIELD, CITY OF · PWSID KS2003513 · Purity Score 96 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.

How many Cowley County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

1 of 2 Cowley County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing, including Arkansas City (PFOS 4.4 ng/L). That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it, so a single sample is not a violation. PFAS were detected at any level in 1.

Is there lead in Cowley County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 2 of 2 Cowley County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.

Next step

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