Is Loomis tap water safe to drink?

EPA's records do not say which residual disinfectant Village of Loomis uses. Its annual water quality report will. If it says "total chlorine" or "chloramines", assume chloramine.

We have no published hardness figure for Loomis. Village of Loomis's annual water quality report usually lists it in milligrams per liter or grains per gallon.

In Village of Loomis's most recent lead sampling, for the period ending December 2027, 90% of tested homes came in at or below 2.2 ppb of lead. That is low on any of the federal yardsticks.

This is a system-wide statistic, not a reading of your tap. Lead comes from lead service lines, old solder and some brass fixtures inside homes, so two houses on the same street can differ. Testing your own tap costs $15-40, and many utilities test free on request.

EPA's lead action level is 15 parts per billion (ppb) today and drops to 10 ppb in November 2027 under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. FDA's limit for bottled water is 5 ppb. EPA's health goal for lead is zero.

Village of Loomis does not appear in EPA's 2023-2025 nationwide PFAS sampling (UCMR 5), or its results are not posted yet.

In April 2024 EPA set enforceable limits of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS, and 10 ppt for PFHxS, PFNA and HFPO-DA (GenX). In May 2025 EPA said it intends to keep the PFOA and PFOS limits, extend the compliance deadline to 2031, and rescind the other three. We compare results to the 2024 limits and label which ones may change.

Village of Loomis has no health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

Loomis is in Phelps County, which EPA places in Radon Zone 1: the predicted average indoor level is above 4 pCi/L, EPA's action level.

In Zone 1, testing is the single highest-value home health check you can do. A $15-25 charcoal kit gives an answer in a few days; a digital monitor shows how levels move with the seasons. If you measure 4 pCi/L or more, a mitigation system (typically $800-2,500) brings it down permanently.

EPA radon zones describe counties, not houses. Zone 1 counties have a predicted average indoor level above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), Zone 2 between 2 and 4, Zone 3 below 2. Homes with high levels are found in every zone, which is why EPA recommends that every home be tested, and fixed at 4 pCi/L or above. See every Nebraska county's radon zone.

EPA has no air monitor in or near Phelps County, so we only have smoke data here.

Wildfire smoke: NOAA satellites placed a medium or heavy smoke plume over Phelps County on about 33 days a year (55 in 2021, the worst year). That is above the typical US county.

EPA's Air Quality Index runs from 0 to 500. Up to 50 is good and 51-100 is moderate. Above 100 the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups (children, older adults, and people with asthma or heart or lung disease), and above 150 it is unhealthy for everyone. We count a county's bad days as days above 100, averaged over 2021-2025. Smoke days come from NOAA satellite analysts, who draw where smoke plumes are overhead each day. A plume overhead does not always reach the ground, so these days measure exposure risk, not what you breathed. We count only medium and heavy plumes.

Indoors, where you spend most of your time

No agency measures indoor air city by city, so nobody can tell you your home's numbers except a monitor in your home. What research does show: Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors (EPA's National Human Activity Pattern Survey, 2001), EPA studies in the 1980s often found indoor levels of some chemical vapors two to five times outdoor levels, and during wildfire smoke the particles get inside unless windows stay shut and a filter runs.

We may earn a commission from links below, at no cost to you. How we make money.

Radon + air quality monitor

EPA radon zone 1 of 3: one device answers radon and air quality.

One battery device that tracks radon alongside particles, CO2, humidity and VOCs. Worth it in a radon zone 1 or 2 county where you want both answers.

Airthings View Plus (radon + PM2.5, CO2, VOC)

$296.99$329.99with code TAPANDAIR-10OFF

Buy at Airthings

Price at Airthings, checked Oct 5, 2026Sold directly by Airthings

Airthings Wave Plus (radon + CO2, VOC)

$224.99$249.99with code TAPANDAIR-10OFF

Buy at Airthings

Price at Airthings, checked Oct 5, 2026Sold directly by Airthings

HEPA air purifier

For allergies, pets, or the occasional smoke day.

A true HEPA purifier sized to the room removes fine particles such as smoke, dust and pollen. Check the CADR rating and skip anything that makes ozone.

Levoit Core 300 (bedroom-size HEPA)

Budget

See today's price on Amazon

Winix 5520 (large-room HEPA)

Mid-range

See today's price on Amazon

Furnace filter (MERV 11 to 13)

Central air? A better filter cleans the whole house every time the system runs.

If you have central heat or air, a pleated MERV 11 or MERV 13 filter catches fine particles such as smoke, dust and pollen from the whole house whenever the fan runs. EPA suggests MERV 13 or the highest your system can take: check your manual and match the exact filter size.

Filters Fast MERV 13 pleated furnace filter (1-inch, 6-pack)

$87.956-pack; price varies by size

Buy at FiltersFast

Price at FiltersFast, checked Oct 27, 2026

Filters Fast MERV 11 pleated furnace filter (1-inch, 6-pack)

$80.956-pack; price varies by size

Buy at FiltersFast

Price at FiltersFast, checked Oct 27, 2026

CO2 monitor

Stuffy bedroom or home office? CO2 tells you when to open a window.

CO2 is the best quick check on whether a room gets enough fresh air. Look for an NDIR sensor; cheap 'eCO2' sensors estimate it from VOCs instead of measuring it.

Aranet4 Home CO2 monitor (NDIR)

$189.00

Buy at Aranet

Price at Aranet, checked Oct 20, 2026or compare on Amazon

Temtop portable CO2 monitor

Budget

See today's price on Amazon

Get free mold and indoor air testing quotes

Air quality, smoke days and mold testing rules for every Nebraska county. Sources: EPA AirData annual AQI by county, 2021-2025; NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke polygons, 2021-2025.