Clay County, Missouri — public water systems

At a glance

20 active public water systems are filed under Clay County, Missouri in EPA's SDWIS records, together reporting 125,166 people served. The largest is Liberty Pws, which reports serving 30,800 people. All 20 are community water systems serving people where they live.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO, refreshed quarterly.

Active systems

Population served

125.2K

Community systems

Groundwater share

50%

How does Clay County compare with other Missouri counties?

Clay County has the 41st-most active public water systems among the 182 counties listed for active Missouri systems in EPA records; among the 132 with 3 or more systems, the median has 13. Its systems report 125,166 people served in total, the 10th-largest county figure in the state and 2.1% of the statewide total. The average system here reports serving 6,258 people, about 3.1 times the Missouri average of 2,049. Population figures are what each system reports; people served by more than one system, such as a wholesaler and the town that buys from it, are counted by each.

Where does Clay County's drinking water come from?

By primary water source, Clay County's active systems draw on purchased surface water (9, 45%), groundwater (6, 30%), purchased groundwater (4, 20%) and surface water (1, 5%). Overall, 50% rely mainly on groundwater (including purchased groundwater) and 50% on surface water, compared with 92% and 8.1% across Missouri. Purchased surface water means the system buys surface water from another public water system rather than drawing its own. The county's largest system, Liberty Pws, draws primarily on groundwater.

What kinds of water systems operate in Clay County?

Clay County's active systems break down as 20 community systems (100%). A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. Homes, apartments and mobile-home parks are served by these. EPA lists their owner types as local government (95%) and private (5%).

Water systems in Clay County

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Active public water systems in Clay County, Missouri
#	Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
1	Liberty Pws	Clay	30,800	Community	Groundwater
2	Gladstone Pws	Clay	27,000	Community	Groundwater
3	Kearney Pws	Clay	11,500	Community	Purchased surface water
4	Excelsior Springs Pws	Clay	11,084	Community	Groundwater
5	Smithville Pws	Clay	10,885	Community	Surface water
6	Ray County Cons Pwsd 2	Clay + 2 more	9,360	Community	Groundwater
7	Clay County Pwsd 6	Clay	4,912	Community	Purchased surface water
8	North Kansas City Pws	Clay	4,500	Community	Groundwater
9	Clay County Pwsd 2	Clay	3,485	Community	Purchased surface water
10	Clay County Pwsd 3	Clay	3,447	Community	Groundwater
11	Clay County Pwsd 9	Clay	2,465	Community	Purchased surface water
12	Clay County Pwsd 8	Clay	2,243	Community	Purchased surface water
13	Clay County Pwsd 5	Clay	1,191	Community	Purchased surface water
14	Clay County Pwsd 4	Clay	1,032	Community	Purchased groundwater
15	Liberty Village MHP	Clay	350	Community	Purchased surface water
16	Missouri City Pws	Clay	254	Community	Purchased groundwater
17	Clay County Pwsd 7	Clay	245	Community	Purchased groundwater
18	Birmingham Village of Pws	Clay	200	Community	Purchased surface water
19	Prathersville Pws	Clay	120	Community	Purchased groundwater
20	Mosby Pws	Clay	93	Community	Purchased surface water

Also serving Clay County

These systems serve several counties, including Clay County. EPA lists another county first for them, so they are not included in the counts above.

Multi-county water systems that also serve Clay County, Missouri
Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Kansas City Pws	Cass + 4 more	553,295	Community	Surface water

Clay County water systems: frequently asked questions

How many public water systems are in Clay County, Missouri?

EPA's SDWIS records file 20 active public water systems under Clay County, Missouri: 20 community systems (100%). At least 1 more system is listed under another county but also serve Clay County.

Who supplies drinking water in Clay County, MO?

The largest community water systems filed under Clay County are Liberty Pws (30,800 people served), Gladstone Pws (27,000 people served) and Kearney Pws (11,500 people served). Which system serves a particular address depends on its service area, which EPA's SDWIS records do not include; a water bill or the local utility can confirm it.

Does Clay County's drinking water come from groundwater or surface water?

Of the 20 active public water systems in Clay County, 50% draw mainly on groundwater and 50% on surface water, counting purchased supplies. The largest system, Liberty Pws, uses groundwater.

Where can I find a water quality report for Clay County?

Each community water system must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1, covering the previous calendar year. 20 community systems are filed under Clay County, so the report to look for is the one from the system that supplies your address.

How can I check violations for a water system in Clay County?

Open the system's profile from the list on this page. Each profile shows the most recent Safe Drinking Water Act violations in EPA's records, with plain-English labels and whether each one is resolved. For current compliance status, EPA ECHO is the primary source.

More Missouri water systems

About this data

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: AquaCensus, “Public water systems in Clay County, Missouri”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/missouri/clay (data as of October 1, 2026).