Lamar Pws, MO
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.57 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
Lamar Pws at a glance
Lamar Pws serves about 4,500 people through 2,063 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Barton County, Missouri. EPA system ID: MO5010446; phone on file: 417-682-5554. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
That is up 1.57 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Lamar Pws is 2.54 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.57 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 2.54 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.54 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.16 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.16 ppb |
Against other Missouri systems
Of the 1,674 Missouri systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.04 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 74 have gone over at some point. Lamar Pws's 1.57 ppb sits at the 62nd percentile in Missouri and the 64th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Barton County
3 other systems share Barton County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Lamar Pws. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Pws | 759 | 0 (not detected) |
| Golden City Pws | 680 | 1.49 ppb |
| Mindenmines Pws | 340 | 0.66 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Lamar, MO may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Lamar Pws whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.