Contaminant 8000
Unresolved Revised Total Coliform Rule violation cited in 2025 (contaminant 8000).
City · TRI 2024
Buffalo, Texas Pollution
1 TRI facilities inside the city limits and 4 public water systems serving residents. In-city TRI releases rose modestly year over year (+14%). Toxic releases concentrations have more than halved since 2017.
FIPS 4811116 · population 1,838 · Leon County
Anomaly engine
Notable Signals
Contaminant 8000
Unresolved Revised Total Coliform Rule violation cited in 2025 (contaminant 8000).
Chlorine
Unresolved Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts (Stage 2) violation cited in 2025 (chlorine).
Chlorine
Unresolved Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts (Stage 2) violation cited in 2025 (chlorine).
Showing the 4 most editorially weighted signals out of 5. Lower-severity signals fold into the chemical breakdown and history charts below.
Pollutant pathways
Buffalo Pollutant Multi-Year Trends
Lifetime cancer risk all pollutants (100 in a million (EPA elevated threshold))Health riskEPA-modeled added cancer cases per million residents from a lifetime of breathing local air toxics. EPA flags 100-in-a-million as elevated.
Single-vintage exposure modeling — EPA cadence is multi-year, so no trend line yet.
Formaldehyde ambient mean (0.077 µg/m³ (1-in-a-million URE))Health riskAn air toxic emitted by refineries, wood products, and combustion. EPA classifies it as a known human carcinogen — long-term inhalation raises cancer risk.
Single-vintage exposure modeling — EPA cadence is multi-year, so no trend line yet.
Benzene ambient mean (0.13 µg/m³ (1-in-a-million URE))Health riskAn air toxic from gasoline, refineries, and tobacco smoke. A known human carcinogen — chronic exposure is linked to leukemia and other blood cancers.
Single-vintage exposure modeling — EPA cadence is multi-year, so no trend line yet.
TRI air releases (5.1 fugitive + 5.2 stack)Health riskToxic chemicals reported by industrial facilities as released into the air — fugitive leaks plus smokestack emissions. Higher pounds means more inhaled exposure for nearby residents.
TRI air releases (5.1 fugitive + 5.2 stack) volumes here are too small to anchor a multi-year trend; YoY movement is still shown above.
TRI water releases (5.3)Health riskToxic chemicals reported by industrial facilities as discharged to surface waters (rivers, lakes, the ocean). Affects fishing, recreation, and downstream drinking-water intakes.
TRI water releases (5.3) volumes here are too small to anchor a multi-year trend; YoY movement is still shown above.
TRI land + off-site releasesHealth riskToxic chemicals released to land on-site or transferred off-site for disposal — landfills, deep-well injection, and similar. Risks groundwater contamination over time.
TRI land + off-site releases volumes here are too small to anchor a multi-year trend; YoY movement is still shown above.
Greenhouse gases (GHGRP large emitters, through 2023)Health riskGreenhouse gases reported by large industrial emitters under EPA's GHGRP, in metric tons of CO₂ equivalent. Drives climate warming and the heat-related health effects that follow.
Greenhouse gases (GHGRP large emitters, through 2023) concentrations are up 30% since 2010.
Top facilities · TRI 2024
Largest Emitters Inside The City
| Facility | Top chemical | Total releases | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Coast Resources LLCReladyne LLC | Polycyclic aromatic compoundsHealth riskPAH class includes IARC Group 1 carcinogens (e.g., benzo[a]pyrene); long-term exposure raises cancer risk. (IARC, EPA) | 0 lb | +14% |
Drinking water · SDWIS
Water Systems Serving Buffalo
17 unresolved violations on the SDWIS record across utilities serving this city.
4
Utilities serving
7,099
Population served
2
Health-based · 5yr
17
Unresolved
| Water system | PWSID | Population served | Health-based · 5yr | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Cedar Creek Water System Private | TX1450020 | 26 | 1 | UNRESOLVED |
| Flo Community Wsc Municipal | TX1450015 | 5,256 | 1 | Returned to compliance |
| City Of Buffalo Municipal | TX1450001 | 1,767 | 0 | UNRESOLVED |
Showing the 3 systems with recorded health-based or unresolved violations. 1 additional system is in compliance with no recorded health-based violations in the past 5 years and is not individually tabulated.
A public water systemis the regulated entity, not the city. EPA's SDWIS definition covers anything serving 25+ people for 60+ days a year or with 15+ service connections — that includes municipal utilities (City of Stockton), water districts, mobile home parks operating their own wells, schools, and small private subdivisions. Each system is independently monitored. Some systems serve multiple cities; some cities are served by many systems.
Equity context · ACS 2018-2022 · USEPA-clone EJ disparity
Who Lives In Buffalo
Buffalo, Texas (Census place block groups): 1,838 residents. Why we surface this →
15.2%
Low-income
32.3%
People of color
3.8%
Under age 5
14.9%
Over age 64
Source: Census ACS 2018-2022 (5-year) + USEPA-clone EJ blockgroup stats (raw indicators + EJ disparity mirror).
Health context
Co-Located Health Indicators
Modeled adult-prevalence estimates published by CDC PLACES, paired with this city's pollution and demographic context. Comparisons are ecological, not causal — pollution and disease prevalence covary at the area level, but the data does not attribute any individual's diagnosis to local exposure. How this section works →
Adult asthma (current)
10.8%
CDC PLACES · 2025 release · BRFSS 2022-2023
COPD prevalence
9.3%
CDC PLACES · 2025 release · BRFSS 2022-2023
Coronary heart disease
7.8%
CDC PLACES · 2025 release · BRFSS 2022-2023
Diabetes (diagnosed)
16.1%
CDC PLACES · 2025 release · BRFSS 2022-2023
Frequent mental distress
19.9%
CDC PLACES · 2025 release · BRFSS 2022-2023
PLACES uses BRFSS-modeled small-area estimates, not individual records. Crude prevalence shown above is the local rate as published; comparators are age-adjusted vs the Texas mean and the US mean — both population-weighted across counties — so geographies with different age structures stay apples-to-apples. Sources: CDC PLACES · 2025 release · BRFSS 2022-2023.
Sources.
- EPA Toxics Release Inventory · retrieved 2026-05-07.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System · retrieved 2026-05-07.