Water system
Geneva City
EPA ID OH0401712 · Ashtabula County · 5,924 people served · owned by a local government
Geneva City buys its water from Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie
- Raw intakes
- Aqua Ohio Ashtabula Lake Eri
- Serves
- 32,342 people · Ashtabula County
- EPA ID
- OH0400711
About this area's water
Did you know
- Geneva runs no water plant at all - every drop is bought wholesale from Aqua Ohio's Ashtabula system and pulled from an intake sitting offshore in Lake Erie.
- The city's sewage plant uses a trickling filter and discharges into Cowles Creek, a stream Ohio EPA classifies as salmonid habitat.
- Geneva gives residents an annual sewer credit for swimming pools deeper than three feet that do not drain into the sanitary sewer.
- The wastewater department has already bought two chopper pumps at $13,000 and $18,000 to deal with flushed wipes, and puts the cost of screening them out of the plant at about $1.92 million, or $768 per customer.
- Geneva publishes water quality reports back to 2018 but no water rate schedule at all.
History5
- 1866Geneva became a village; it was incorporated as a city in 1958.
- 2019Geneva Water System participated in the fourth round of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule; manganese was detected in the distribution system at up to 31.9 ppb.
- 2023-2024Geneva Waterworks participated in UCMR 5, monitoring 29 PFAS compounds and lithium, with no detections.
- 2025January: city council tabled two ordinances dealing with water and sewer rate increases (Star Beacon; full article paywalled, headline and lede only).
- 2025System was in compliance with all water quality regulations and held a current, unconditioned license to operate.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Geneva Water Works operates distribution only. It buys bulk finished water from the Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula Water System, which draws surface water from an intake offshore in Lake Erie and treats it; Geneva's water is disinfected using chlorine. The city's 2025 CCR notes that Aqua maintains…
Source: genevaohio.govecho.epa.gov
Water pressure
Not published. No distribution pressure figures appear in the city's water department pages, its CCRs, or its wastewater materials.
What it costs
We found no published water rate schedule. The city's water page carries no rates, the finance department page carries only budget ordinances, and residents pay through an…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 19-56.8 ppb. Byproduct of chlorination. | 45.3 ppb | 80 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) Range 13.8-30.9 ppb. Byproduct of chlorination. | 24.75 ppb | 60 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Total chlorine Range 1.2-1.8 ppm. | 1.64 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Fluoride Range 0.8-1.1 ppm. Water additive and erosion of natural deposits. | 0.94 ppm | 4 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Barium Erosion of natural deposits. | 0.17 ppm | 2 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Nitrate Range 0.2-1.3 ppm. | 0.89 ppm | 10 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Turbidity Range 0.04-0.19 NTU; 100% of samples met the limit. | 0.19 NTU | treatment… | 2025 |
| Total organic carbon (removal ratio) Reported as the lowest ratio of TOC removed to TOC required. The CCR marks no violation and notes the Aqua… | 0.95 ratio | treatment… | 2025 |
| Lead 0 of 20 samples above the action level, sampled July-September 2025. An earlier reading of the 2024 report suggesting… | 0 (90th… ppb | 15 (action… | 2025 |
| Copper 0 of 20 samples above the action level, sampled July-September 2025. | 0.102 (90th… ppm | 1.3 (action… | 2025 |
Source: genevaohio.gov
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
3 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 3 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
EPA compliance record · Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 3.1 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
1 violation of any kind logged since 2020: 1 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
Projects & plans6
Recent and current work
- OPWC Round 39 FY26 Lawn St. waterline replacement · 2026 · planned
Listed among current city projects; funded through the Ohio Public Works Commission Round 39. No cost figure is published by the city and none is asserted here. - SR 534 sanitary sewer project (Limited Environmental Review) · unknown · planned
A Geneva SR 534 SRS Limited Environmental Review notice is posted on the wastewater page; scope and cost not published. - West Main Street project, Phase 1 · 2026 · under construction
Listed as a current city project with its own updates page; a street project that may include utility work. No cost published.
Source: genevaohio.govgenevaohio.gov
Planned or needed
- West Main Street project, Phase 2 · unknown · planned
Listed on the city projects page with no schedule or cost. - ACGP Streetscape, Phases I and II · unknown · planned
Listed on the city projects page with no schedule or cost. - Wipes screening at the wastewater treatment plant · $1.9 million · unknown · needed
The wastewater department states an estimated $1,920,000 - more than $768 per customer - to install screening that would keep 'flushable' wipes out of the…
Source: genevaohio.govgenevaohio.gov
Supply stress
Geneva has no source of its own; all of its water is purchased from Aqua Ohio's Ashtabula system, which draws from Lake Erie. The 2025 CCR states that although Aqua's intake is offshore, the proximity of several onshore sources raises the source water's susceptibility, and lists municipal and industrial wastewater discharges, residential…
Source: genevaohio.govecho.epa.gov
Sewers
Sanitary
City-operated. The Geneva Wastewater Treatment Plant treats by trickling filter followed by advanced treatment and discharges to Cowles Creek, which Ohio EPA designates a low-flow, warm water, salmonid habitat stream. Design capacity 2 MGD with wet weather flows to 5 MGD; collection system of about 38.3 miles of gravity sewer (6 to 30…
Storm
No separate storm water utility or fee was found. The city posts a sanitary sewer overflow annual report (2016) but publishes no storm water rate or program page.
Source: genevaohio.gov
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Main supplier in 1 ZIP code
Serves
Main water supplier in 1 ZIP code
- 44041 · Geneva59% 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
Geneva City buys its water from Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula.
No other system is on record buying water from Geneva City.
What the records show about Geneva City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Geneva City as owned by a local government. It has 2,510 service connections and serves 5,924 people.
EPA classes it as a community water system, one that serves the same residents all year.
Its office telephone on EPA's record is 440-466-4675.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Geneva City buys water that Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, 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's record shows no health-based violations for Geneva City since 2015.
EPA logs 3 violations of any kind since 2020: 3 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
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 December 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Geneva 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 2.5 ppb, in the period ending December 2019.
EPA has 7 sampling periods on file for Geneva City since 2016, the first ending in 2016; 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 Geneva City sent EPA, 2,331 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 0 |
| Not lead | 2,331 |
| All lines | 2,331 |
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 Geneva City in 2024 and measured 29 PFAS. No PFAS was detected, PFOA and PFOS (federal limit 4 ng/L each) among them.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula (latest sample September 2020). Not one of the six PFAS tested (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS) was detected.
Ohio EPA's current sampling status map lists 1 plant of Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula as sampled, most recently July 2025.
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 Geneva City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 65.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 70.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 102.2 µg/L, from 62 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 34.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 34.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 53.7 µg/L, from 60 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 65.5 µg/L (2019) | 70.9 µg/L | 102.2 µg/L | 62 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 34.2 µg/L | 34.2 µg/L | 53.7 µg/L | 60 |
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
The water Geneva City buys is treated by Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula, so the results below are Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula's.
Nitrate: the highest of 96 samples was 0.88 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.77 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 9 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 96 | 0.88 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 9 | 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 of Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula.
Solvents and fuels
The water Geneva City buys is treated by Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula, so the results below are Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula's.
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 of Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Geneva City buys is treated by Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula, so the results below are Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula's.
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: chromium in 6 of 9 samples, highest 5.1 µg/L (limit 100); barium in 8 of 9 samples, highest 22 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 8 samples, alachlor in 8 samples, cadmium in 9 samples, mercury in 9 samples, selenium in 9 samples, thallium in 9 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 9 | 6 of 9 | 5.1 µg/L | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 9 | 0 of 9 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 9 | 8 of 9 | 22 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 9 | 0 of 9 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 9 | 0 of 9 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 9 | 0 of 9 | 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 of Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 0 of 800 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Geneva City tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 97 did.
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 Geneva City buys its water from Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula, a system that adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula, which treats the water Geneva City buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.84 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula, which supplies Geneva City, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.83 to 1.1 mg/L across 9 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 Geneva 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
The water Geneva City buys is treated by Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula, so the results below are Aqua Ohio - Ashtabula's.
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 8 times in 230 raw-water samples, across 3 bloom seasons (2016 to 2019); the highest raw-water result was 2.97 µg/L on September 19, 2017. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (88 samples).
In all, 318 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 230 | 8 | 2.97 µg/L |
| Treated water | 88 | 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).
Water and sewer bills
Ohio EPA's 2023 rate survey puts the water bill at Geneva City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $623 a year, about $52 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $631 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $312 | $315 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $623 | $631 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $997 | $1,010 |
The survey lists it as “Geneva”. These are inside-city rates and annual bills at the use shown.
Source: Ohio EPA 2023 Sewer and Water Rate Survey (Ohio State University, May 2025).
How well the service area is mapped
EPA estimated the service area of Geneva City with a computer model rather than drawing it from the utility's map, so its edges are approximate.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 8,172 residents are inside the boundary, 138% of the 5,924 people Geneva 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 — 1 ZIP code 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 OH0401712 (EPA ECHO).
Notable facts: genevaohio.gov, genevaohio.gov, genevaohio.gov
History: en.wikipedia.org, genevaohio.gov, starbeacon.com
Water quality: genevaohio.gov
Planned work: genevaohio.gov, genevaohio.gov
Capital projects: genevaohio.gov, genevaohio.gov
Rates: genevaohio.gov, genevaohio.gov, genevaohio.gov, starbeacon.com
Sewers: genevaohio.gov
Treatment: genevaohio.gov, echo.epa.gov
Supply stress: genevaohio.gov, echo.epa.gov
