Water system
Lima City
EPA ID OH0200811 · Allen County · 65,619 people served · owned by a local government
Lima City treats its own water from Auglaize River and Ottawa River, stored in city upground reservoirs.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Auglaize River, Ottawa River, Bresler Lake Reservoir, Williams Reservoir, Ferguson Reservoir, Metzger Lake Reservoir
- Raw intakes
- Ferguson Lake Reservoir
Bresler Reservoir
Auglaize River
Lost Creek Reservoir
Ottawa River
Twin Lakes Reservoir - Serves
- 65,619 people · Allen County
- EPA ID
- OH0200811
About this area's water
Did you know
- Lima draws no groundwater and buys no water. Every drop comes from five upground reservoirs that are pumped full from the Auglaize and Ottawa Rivers.
- Those five reservoirs hold roughly 14.3 billion gallons - enough to run the roughly 15-MGD plant for years without a drop of new river water.
- The 2014 Clean Water Act settlement runs 24 years and could top $147 million, more than doubling the sewage plant's wet-weather capacity from about 30 to 70 MGD.
- Lima's 2025 trihalomethane running annual average was 73 ppb against an 80 ppb limit, and one individual sample measured 80.6 ppb.
History5
- 1918-1958Lima built its east-side upground reservoirs off the Ottawa River: Lost Creek (1918), Metzger Lake (1946) and Ferguson (1958).
- 1970Bresler Reservoir opened west of the city, fed from the Auglaize River, adding about 4.92 billion gallons of storage.
- 2012Williams Reservoir was completed next to Bresler, adding about 5.2 billion gallons and becoming the system's largest.
- 2014Lima signed a federal Clean Water Act consent decree over Ottawa River combined sewer overflows, with work that could exceed $147 million.
- 2026A January 2026 service line inventory listed 1,991 lead service lines and 2,221 of unknown material still in the system.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Reservoir water enters a 2.5-MG primary basin for clarification and softening, then 1.3-MG secondary basins; carbon dioxide stabilization and polyphosphate; ten rapid sand/anthracite filters plus four optional GAC filters; then chlorine, fluoride and polyphosphate.
Water pressure
Not published. The plant is rated about 15 MGD; storage is 4.4 MG of underground clearwells plus roughly 4 MG in five elevated tanks.
What it costs
$5.03 per 1,000 gallons
2026 inside-city first tier $37.59 per 1,000 cu ft (~$5.03 per 1,000 gal) after a $21.38 monthly minimum covering 300 cu ft; top tier $26.33. Rises again Jan 2027.
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM (total trihalomethanes) Running annual average; range 21.7-80.6 ppb, so single samples touched the MCL. No violation. | 73.025 ppb | 80 ppb | 2025 |
| HAA5 (haloacetic acids) Running annual average. The CCR prints a range of 7.1-16.0, inconsistent with its own average. | 18.975 ppb | 60 ppb | 2025 |
| Nitrate Range 0.31-2.05; farm runoff and septic leaching into the Auglaize and Ottawa Rivers. | 2.05 ppm | 10 ppm | 2025 |
| Fluoride Range 0.81-1.21; natural erosion plus dental-health additive. | 0.98 ppm | 4 ppm | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 69 samples Jan-Jun and 0 of 62 Jul-Dec exceeded the action level. | <2.0 ppb | 15 ppb (AL) | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) Jan-Jun result; Jul-Dec was 0.040 ppm. No sample exceeded the action level. | 0.047 ppm | 1.3 ppm (AL) | 2025 |
| Turbidity Range 0.04-0.44; 100% of samples met the limit. | 0.21 NTU | 0.3 NTU in 95%… | 2025 |
| PFAS (PFBA, unregulated) UCMR5: PFBA 0.0053, PFPeA 0.0039, PFHxA 0.0033 ppb. No PFOA or PFOS detected. | 0.0053 ppb | no federal MCL | 2023 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2026 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2024Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.087 MG/L (limit 0.08 MG/L) · returned to compliance
- 2022Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.086 MG/L (limit 0.08 MG/L) · returned to compliance
- 2016Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule · turbidity above the limit in a single reading · returned to compliance
2 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 2 health-based.
Projects & plans3
Recent and current work
- Ottawa River CSO control program (2014 consent decree) · $147 million · 2014- · under construction
Raises wet-weather treatment capacity from about 30 to 70 MGD and adds a 13-million-gallon CSO storage tank. - Williams Reservoir · 2012 · completed
Upground reservoir on the Auglaize River next to Bresler; about 5.2 billion gallons, the system's largest.
Planned or needed
- Lead service line replacement · 2026 · needed
The January 2026 inventory lists 1,991 lead lines plus 2,221 of unknown material; we found no funded replacement program.
Supply stress
Lima has no wells and buys no water, so five upground reservoirs are the entire supply and summer drawdown is the standing concern. Disinfection byproducts are the sharper problem: the 2025 TTHM running annual average was 73 of an 80 ppb MCL, with one sample at 80.6 ppb.
Sewers
Sanitary
Lima's wastewater plant discharges to the Ottawa River under a 2014 federal consent decree covering combined and sanitary sewer overflows across seven basins over 24 years. It must reach 70 MGD peak wet-weather capacity and build a 13-million-gallon storage tank; Lima paid a $49,000 penalty.
Storm
Older parts of Lima are served by combined sewers, which the consent decree targets at five or fewer overflows in a typical year. The city publishes an annual Combined Sewer Overflow activity report.
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Main supplier in 4 ZIP codes
Serves
Main water supplier in 4 ZIP codes
- 45805 · Lima97% of residents
- 45804 · Lima91% of residents
- 45801 · Lima86% of residents
- 45806 · Shawnee Township and Lima36% of residents
Also present in 1 more ZIP code
- 45807 · American Township and Lima28% of residents
Population-weighted resident shares; a ZIP code can have more than one system on record. Recomputed from each ZIP's own system list, not from the map's cached footprint.
Buys from · Sells to
Lima City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
1 system on record buys water from Lima City: Elida Village.
What the records show about Lima City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Lima City as owned by a local government. It has 27,113 service connections and serves 65,619 people.
EPA classes it as a community water system, one that serves the same residents all year.
EPA's record says it has substantially implemented source water protection under Ohio's program, dating the program from 2023. Its office telephone on EPA's record is 419-228-5462.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Lima City: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, granular activated carbon, lime softening, powdered activated carbon, and sand or media filtration.
The list is what each system registered with EPA for treatment plants EPA still shows as active, and it can lag a plant upgrade.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) treatment table (EPA Envirofacts, pulled September 2026).
Violations
EPA counts 3 health-based violations for Lima City since 2015. Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a required treatment step not carried out. They fall into 3 separate problems (one contaminant or rule in one year); the table lists them all.
EPA logs 2 violations of any kind since 2020: 2 health-based.
| Year | Contaminant or rule | Kind | Measured | Limit | Status in EPA's record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | above the legal limit on average | 0.087 mg/L | 0.08 mg/L | returned to compliance |
| 2022 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | above the legal limit on average | 0.086 mg/L | 0.08 mg/L | returned to compliance |
| 2016 | Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule | turbidity above the limit in a single reading | not on file | not on file | returned to compliance |
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) violation records: health-based violations with compliance periods beginning in 2015 or later, all violations from 2020 or later (EPA Envirofacts, pulled September 2026).
Lead and copper at the tap
In the sampling period ending June 2026, the 90th-percentile lead result at Lima City was 0 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027. A result of 0 means at least nine in ten of the homes sampled had no lead detected.
The highest result on file is 0.6 ppb, in the period ending June 2023.
EPA has 11 sampling periods on file for Lima City since 2016, the first ending in 2017; no period was above 10 ppb.
Every water system has to inventory its service lines, the pipes from the main to each building. In the inventory Lima City sent EPA, 26,365 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 2,713 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 19 |
| Unknown material | 23,367 |
| Not lead | 266 |
| All lines | 26,365 |
Systems sample taps in the homes most likely to have lead pipes or solder. The 90th-percentile result is the level nine in ten of the sampled homes were at or below. Lead comes mostly from service lines and house plumbing, not the source water, so a low result for the system does not clear an old house.
EPA's dashboard status for this inventory: reported all required service line types.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) lead and copper 90th-percentile results (EPA Envirofacts), sampling periods ending 2016 or later; EPA's service line inventory dashboard, Ohio's 2026 Q2 submission.
PFAS
EPA's fifth national round of testing (UCMR 5) took 4 samples of the water entering the pipes of Lima City in 2023 to 2024 and measured 29 PFAS.
PFOA and PFOS were not detected, against a federal limit of 4 ng/L each.
The highest PFAS results were PFBA 5.3 ng/L, PFPeA 5.1 ng/L, and PFHxA 3.3 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Lima City (latest sample September 2020). Not one of the six PFAS tested (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS) was detected.
| Compound | Highest result | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA | not detected | 4 ng/L |
| PFOS | not detected | 4 ng/L |
PFAS are the 'forever chemicals' from firefighting foam, plating shops and non-stick coatings. Results are for water leaving the plant, not your tap.
Source: EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data (final release, August 2026); Ohio EPA statewide PFAS sampling, 2019 to 2021, and its sampling status map.
Disinfection byproducts
Chlorine that disinfects water also reacts with organic matter to form byproducts. Two groups have federal limits: total trihalomethanes (TTHM, 80 µg/L) and five haloacetic acids (HAA5, 60 µg/L), judged on running yearly averages at each sampling site.
For TTHM, the average of Lima City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 43.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 58.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 123.1 µg/L, from 255 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 13.8 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 21 µg/L and the highest single sample was 47.8 µg/L, from 256 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 43.5 µg/L (2019) | 58.3 µg/L | 123.1 µg/L | 255 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 13.8 µg/L | 21 µg/L | 47.8 µg/L | 256 |
A yearly average of 0 means nothing was detected in that year's samples. EPA's file stops at 2019; Ohio EPA's Drinking Water Watch has newer results.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, distribution-system samples (non-detects counted as zero).
Nitrate, arsenic and radioactivity
Nitrate: the highest of 96 samples was 3.41 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2017; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.21 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 8 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 96 | 3.41 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 8 | not detected | 10 µg/L | 0 |
Measured in finished water: at the plant's entry points and in the distribution system; raw well and intake samples are left out. Non-detects count as zero.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water.
Solvents and fuels
EPA's file holds results for all six solvent and fuel compounds it checked. Benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and vinyl chloride were not detected in 8 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
"Not detected" means the lab's result was below what its method can measure, not that the compound is absent. Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water.
Farm chemicals and metals
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: atrazine in 6 of 22 samples, highest 1 µg/L (limit 3). Not detected: alachlor in 22 samples, chromium in 8 samples, cadmium in 8 samples, barium in 8 samples, mercury in 8 samples, selenium in 8 samples, thallium in 8 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 22 | 6 of 22 | 1 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 22 | 0 of 22 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 6 of 8,060 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Lima City tested positive (0.07%); in 2019, the last year on file, 1 of 970 did. E. coli was never found in the 4 samples tested for it.
A positive coliform test is a warning sign, not a violation by itself. E. coli is a sign that human or animal waste may have reached the water. Coliform counts are routine samples only; E. coli counts include repeat samples.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, distribution-system presence/absence tests for total coliform and E. coli.
Fluoride
The Ohio Department of Health's report to the CDC (My Water's Fluoride) says Lima City adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Lima City.
Measured fluoride: 0.89 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.84 to 1.06 mg/L across 8 samples in 2012 to 2019.
The recommended level for preventing tooth decay is 0.7 mg/L; the federal limit is 4 mg/L. The treatment list is what each system registered with EPA and can lag a plant upgrade.
Source: CDC My Water's Fluoride (fluoridation status as reported by the Ohio Department of Health, fetched September 2026); EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) treatment table; EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, entry-point fluoride samples.
Lithium
Lithium was not detected in 4 UCMR 5 samples at Lima City, last sampled in 2024 (the method reports from 9 µg/L).
Lithium is not regulated. EPA's draft health reference level is 10 µg/L, and it occurs naturally in deep groundwater, so well systems in the northwest run highest.
Source: EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data (final release, August 2026), samples from 2023 to 2025.
Algal toxins
Ohio EPA tests for microcystin, a toxin that harmful algal blooms can release, in raw water at the intake and in treated water.
At the intake, microcystin was detected 94 times in 282 raw-water samples, across 7 bloom seasons (2017 to 2026); the highest raw-water result was 7.461 µg/L on May 10, 2018. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 4.92 µg/L.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (273 samples).
In all, 555 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 13, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 282 | 94 | 7.461 µg/L |
| Treated water | 273 | 0 | not detected |
The ten-day advisory levels for treated water are 0.3 µg/L for children under six and 1.6 µg/L for everyone else. Any detection at the intake triggers more frequent testing until two clean weeks.
Source: Ohio EPA public water system harmful algal bloom monitoring, 2016 to present (HAB data, fetched September 2026).
How well the service area is mapped
The service area drawn on the map for Lima City comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 62,073 residents are inside the boundary, 95% of the 65,619 people Lima City reports serving.
The resident count is an estimate from 2020 Census ZIP-code populations, not a count of customers.
Source: EPA Service Area Boundaries; resident estimate by this atlas from ZIP-code overlap.
Photograph
On the map
Show this system's territory on the map — 5 ZIP codes in all.
Sources
U.S. EPA SDWIS and Community Water System Service Area Boundaries (v3, 2026), Ohio EPA primacy data, 2020 census blocks: the system serving most residents, traced through purchases to the treating utility; Ohio EPA 2023 Sewer and Water Rate Survey (Ohio State, May 2025) for household bills; Ohio EPA DEFA loan awards since 2016 for the loans paragraph · EPA SDWIS · EPA service area boundaries · Ohio EPA drinking water · Ohio EPA rate survey
EPA's own record for this system: Enforcement and Compliance History report for OH0200811 (EPA ECHO).
Lima City's own pages: limaohio.gov, limaohio.gov
