{
  "type": "water",
  "pwsid": "OH2503411",
  "name": "Westerville City",
  "county": "Franklin",
  "population": 39000,
  "producer": true,
  "source_class": "river",
  "label": "Alum Creek + wells",
  "bodies": [
    "Alum Creek"
  ],
  "intakes": [
    "Westerville Alum Creek Inta"
  ],
  "wells": 3,
  "aquifer": "",
  "notes": "Westerville operates its own treatment plant drawing most source water from Alum Creek (fed from Delaware/Morrow counties, north of the city), supplemented by 3 groundwater wells; no evidence found of purchasing from Columbus.",
  "urls": [
    "https://www.westerville.org/services/water/faqs",
    "https://1808delaware.com/westerville/a-westerville-water-update/"
  ],
  "chain": [
    "OH2503411"
  ],
  "plants": [
    {
      "n": "Westerville Water Treatment Plant",
      "a": "310 W. Main St, Westerville, OH 43081",
      "la": 40.1265,
      "lo": -82.935,
      "pt": "plant",
      "wb": "Alum Creek",
      "src": "Alum Creek, drawn just north of Main Street at the treatment plant, supplemented by 3 active groundwater wells",
      "cls": "river",
      "in": [
        {
          "n": "Alum Creek intake",
          "wb": "Alum Creek",
          "role": "primary",
          "src": "Intake on Alum Creek just north of W. Main St at the plant; a low dam built in 1935 holds up the pool",
          "la": 40.127,
          "lo": -82.9355,
          "pt": "approximate"
        },
        {
          "n": "Westerville well field",
          "wb": "Unnamed shallow groundwater aquifer near Alum Creek (buried valley/alluvial sand and gravel typical of the area; not separately named in…",
          "role": "secondary",
          "src": "3 wells blended into the Alum Creek plant supply; city describes them only as groundwater supplementing the Alum Creek intake, no separate well-field name or depths published. (3 wells)",
          "la": 40.1265,
          "lo": -82.935,
          "pt": "approximate",
          "wells": [
            "Westerville Well Pw-10",
            "Westerville Well Pw-3",
            "Westerville Well Pw-14"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "facts": {
    "hist": [
      [
        "1924",
        "City opened its first Alum Creek water treatment plant, ending the community's reliance on well water for drinking supply."
      ],
      [
        "1951",
        "Westerville became the first community in Ohio to fluoridate its drinking water."
      ],
      [
        "1970-1975",
        "US Army Corps of Engineers built Alum Creek Dam upstream of the city; authorized by Congress in 1962, construction began 1970, dam completed 1975."
      ],
      [
        "1977",
        "A federal grant funded a wastewater collection upgrade; two collector sewers were added and all known sanitary sewer overflows were permanently blocked."
      ],
      [
        "2024",
        "Centennial of the Alum Creek plant on Dec. 30; the Westerville Public Library and History Museum mounted an exhibit on the milestone."
      ]
    ],
    "treat": "Plant at 312 W. Main St., licensed for 7.5 MGD: ferric chloride coagulation, lime and caustic soda softening, carbon dioxide for pH, rapid sand filters, GAC filters, sodium hypochlorite, then phosphate for corrosion control and fluoride. PAC and permanganate as needed.",
    "press": "Not published. The city reports no system-wide average pressure or pressure-zone figures; treated water is stored in a clearwell and pumped to elevated storage tanks.",
    "rate": {
      "g": 8.14,
      "n": "May 2026: $11.22/month minimum (includes first 2 ccf), then $6.09/ccf = $8.14 per 1,000 gal; falls to $5.00 and $3.46/ccf at higher tiers.",
      "m": 36
    },
    "imp": [
      [
        "Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)",
        "66.8",
        "ppb",
        "80",
        "2024",
        "Locational running annual average; range 28.6-83.4 ppb - closest result to any MCL."
      ],
      [
        "Haloacetic acids (HAA5)",
        "19.1",
        "ppb",
        "60",
        "2024",
        "Locational running annual average; range 11.9-28.7 ppb."
      ],
      [
        "Lead",
        "1.5",
        "ppb",
        "15 (action…",
        "2023",
        "90th percentile; 0 of 37 samples above the action level."
      ],
      [
        "Copper",
        "0.0479",
        "ppm",
        "1.3 (action…",
        "2023",
        "90th percentile; 0 of 37 samples above the action level."
      ],
      [
        "Nitrate",
        "0.9",
        "ppm",
        "10",
        "2024",
        "Range ND-0.9 ppm; well below the MCL."
      ],
      [
        "Fluoride",
        "0.97",
        "ppm",
        "4",
        "2024",
        "Added at the plant; range 0.82-1.07 ppm."
      ],
      [
        "Barium",
        "0.02",
        "ppm",
        "2",
        "2024",
        "Erosion of natural deposits; about 1% of the MCL."
      ],
      [
        "Turbidity",
        "0.11",
        "NTU",
        "0.3 (treatment…",
        "2024",
        "Highest 2024 result; 100% of monthly samples met the limit."
      ]
    ],
    "proj": [
      [
        "Lead and galvanized service line inventory",
        null,
        "2024",
        "completed",
        "Required inventory published as a searchable online map; residents asked to self-report or scratch-test lines of unknown material."
      ]
    ],
    "plan": [
      [
        "Galvanized water service line replacement",
        null,
        "2027-2034",
        "planned",
        "City replacement plan required by fall 2027 and replacements complete by 2034; the city replaces the public portion, the owner the private portion."
      ]
    ],
    "stress": "Both Alum Creek and the Alum Creek Valley Aquifer are classified highly susceptible to contamination - oil and gas wells, leaking tanks, landfills and salt storage sit in the source area. Peak day 5.15 MGD against 7.5 MGD plant capacity; the Columbus emergency tie is unused since 1994.",
    "sew": {
      "s": "Westerville maintains the collection system (3,109 manholes, one lift station at Mariners Cove) but owns no treatment plant: all wastewater is treated by the City of Columbus or the Delaware County sewage district under contract. A 1977 grant-funded upgrade blocked all known overflows; none found since.",
      "st": "Fully separate storm system - 133 miles of storm sewer and 43 outfalls to Alum Creek and Big Walnut Creek under an Ohio EPA Phase II MS4 permit. No separate residential stormwater fee appears on the city rate sheet."
    },
    "fun": [
      "Westerville was the first community in Ohio to fluoridate its drinking water, starting in 1951.",
      "It is a lime-softening plant: hardness is cut to about 111 mg/L (6.5 grains per gallon) on average before the water leaves the plant.",
      "At $36 a month in 2024, Westerville's average residential water bill was among the lowest in central Ohio - below Reynoldsburg ($52), Upper Arlington ($51) and Dublin ($48).",
      "Westerville keeps an emergency connection to Columbus's water system but has not needed to use it since 1994."
    ]
  },
  "zips_served": [
    {
      "zip": "43081",
      "share": 0.4635,
      "dominant": true
    },
    {
      "zip": "43082",
      "share": 0.2844,
      "dominant": false
    }
  ],
  "photo": {
    "url": "/photos/OH2503411.jpg",
    "caption": "Alum Creek Lake and Hoover Reservoir near Westerville, Ohio",
    "credit": "Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA",
    "license": "CC BY-SA 2.0"
  },
  "url": "https://crackedbuckeye.com/water/OH2503411/",
  "api": "https://crackedbuckeye.com/api/water/OH2503411.json",
  "generated": "2026-09-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0 for the compilation; each source keeps its own terms",
  "cite": "Cracked Buckeye (Open Shower Co), \"Westerville City · OH2503411\", https://crackedbuckeye.com/water/OH2503411/, built 2026-09-16, accessed [date].",
  "schema": "https://crackedbuckeye.com/api/schema.json"
}