Water system
Bellaire Public Water System
EPA ID OH0700114 · Belmont County · 4,278 people served · owned by a local government
Bellaire Public Water System treats its own water from Ohio River (via bank infiltration wells).
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Ohio River alluvial aquifer (infiltration gallery/wells along the riverbank)
- Water bodies
- Ohio River (via bank infiltration)
- Raw intakes
- Bellaire Infiltration
- Active wells
- 2
- Serves
- 4,278 people · Belmont County
- EPA ID
- OH0700114
About this area's water
Did you know
- Bellaire's supply is legally drawn from wells but hydrologically it is the Ohio River: the plant sits on the riverbank and its wells are bank-infiltration wells into an aquifer less than 30 feet deep, and EPA classes…
- The village keeps an emergency interconnection with the Belmont County Water & Sewer District at Klee Crossing in West Bellaire and takes water through it routinely to keep the connection exercised. In 2025 it took 1.95…
- Bellaire was nicknamed 'Glass City' after late-19th-century natural gas discoveries drew glassmakers; Imperial Glass, founded there in 1901, was among the largest handmade glass manufacturers in 20th-century America…
- Because a dry-cleaning solvent plume sits under a four-block stretch of downtown, Bellaire tests its water for volatile organic compounds every month — three times more often than the rules require.
- The big $72 million water-and-sewer program often associated with Bellaire is not the village's: it is the Belmont County Water & Sewer District's, including the district's own new plant on a 2.5-acre site off Ohio 7.
Source: villageofbellaire.orgvillageofbellaire.orgen.wikipedia.org
History6
- 1836Settlement officially founded as 'Bell Air', its name inspired by the Maryland town of the same name; the railroad's arrival in the mid-19th century gave the modern spelling 'Bellaire'.
- 1901-1984Bellaire became a glass-manufacturing hub after late-19th-century natural gas discoveries — the 'Glass City'. Imperial Glass Company, founded there in 1901, was among the largest US handmade glass…
- 2021 (Sept)Village Council gave a first reading to a Source Water Protection Area ordinance aimed at minimizing contamination of the shallow surficial aquifer feeding the village's riverbank wellfield, with a…
- 2023Two air strippers were placed in service by the end of the year to strip tetrachloroethylene ('TCE' in the village's own reporting) from groundwater in a four-block downtown test-well area between…
- 2025…The treatment plant flooded in March 2025; the village bought 950,000 gallons from Belmont County that month. EPA SDWIS records a non-health-based monitoring/reporting violation (Tier 3 public…
- 2025 (Jul)A large water line break led the village to draw a further 650,000 gallons through its Belmont County interconnection.
Source: villageofbellaire.orgen.wikipedia.orgtimesleaderonline.com
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Bellaire's plant at 217 37th Street draws from the Ohio River (SDWIS classes the system as surface water; the village's wells are riverbank infiltration wells and the source water assessment discusses an aquifer less than 30 feet deep). The source watershed is the Upper Ohio Wheeling watershed…
Source: villageofbellaire.orgdata.epa.gov
Water pressure
Not published. No pressure-zone or psi figures appear in the 2025 CCR, the water department page or the codified ordinances.
What it costs
Not published. Bellaire's codified ordinance 923.21 states only that 'Water rates shall be established in the manner as authorized by the Ohio Revised Code'; the actual schedule…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Disinfection by-product; range 38.3-67.4 ppb; no violation. | 67.4 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Disinfection by-product; range 7.42-16.8 ppb; no violation. | 16.8 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 90th percentile 0.0 ppb in both 2025 monitoring periods. 1 of 40 samples exceeded the 15 ppb action level in Jan-Jun… | 0.0 ppb | 15 (AL) | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) Jan-Jun 2025: 0.0077 ppm; Jul-Dec 2025: 0.00627 ppm. 0 of 40 samples over the action level in both periods. | 0.0077 ppm | 1.3 (AL) | 2025 |
| Chlorine Disinfectant residual; range 1.22-1.88 ppm. | 1.65 ppm | 4.0 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Fluoride Natural deposits plus fluoridation additive; range 0.80-1.30 ppm. | 1.12 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Nitrate (as N) Range 0.841-2.36 ppm; no violation. | 2.36 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Turbidity Range 0.04-0.20 NTU; 100% of samples below the treatment-technique value and the 0.3 NTU/95% standard; no violation. | 0.20 NTU | 1.0 (TT) | 2025 |
| Total Organic Carbon (removal ratio) Range 1.0-1.0; a value above 1 indicates compliance with TOC removal requirements. Reported as no violation. | 1.0 ratio | TT (must exceed… | 2025 |
| Selenium Discharge from petroleum/metal refineries and mines. | 3.21 ppb | 50 | 2024 |
Source: villageofbellaire.org
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2026 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
3 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 2 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 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 & plans3
Recent and current work
- TCE air-stripper installation · 2023 · completed
Two air strippers in service by the end of 2023 to remove tetrachloroethylene from groundwater in a four-block downtown test-well area (32nd-36th Streets, SR 7… - Village-wide water meter replacement with service line material inspection · under construction
Mandatory residential meter replacement at no cost to owners, by contractors Fort Steuben Maintenance (41st Street north) and Newman (rest of town and Route…
Source: villageofbellaire.org
Planned or needed
- Lead / galvanized service line replacement · needed
Any service line found to be lead or galvanized steel during the meter-replacement inspections must be reported to Ohio EPA and added to a replacement list. No…
Source: villageofbellaire.org
Supply stress
Ohio EPA's source water assessment rates the aquifer supplying Bellaire's wells as having 'very high susceptibility' to contamination, citing a relatively thin layer of sediment over the aquifer, a significant contaminant source inside the protection area, man-made contaminants already present in the aquifer, and the aquifer's shallow…
Sewers
Sanitary
The village operates its own sanitary sewer system under Chapter 921 of its codified ordinances (which sets a $1.25 per month per dwelling-unit sewer user fee plus usage-based charges for commercial and industrial customers). The treatment plant name, capacity and receiving stream are not published. Note: the Fox Shannon wastewater plant…
Source: villageofbellaire.orgwtov9.com
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
- 43906 · Bellaire59% 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
Bellaire Public Water System does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
No other system is on record buying water from Bellaire Public Water System.
What the records show about Bellaire Public Water System
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Bellaire Public Water System as owned by a local government. It has 1,963 service connections and serves 4,278 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 740-296-6490.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Bellaire Public Water System: coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, fluoridation, lime softening, 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 Bellaire Public Water System since 2015.
EPA logs 3 violations of any kind since 2020: 2 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 1 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 June 2026, the 90th-percentile lead result at Bellaire Public Water System 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 1.1 ppb, in the period ending December 2020.
EPA has 11 sampling periods on file for Bellaire Public Water System 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 Bellaire Public Water System sent EPA, 2,086 lines are counted.
H2Ohio paid the Rural Community Assistance Partnership to help this small system build its lead service line inventory (Ohio EPA).
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 27 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 89 |
| Unknown material | 1,792 |
| Not lead | 178 |
| All lines | 2,086 |
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 Bellaire Public Water System in 2024 and measured 29 PFAS.
PFOA and PFOS were not detected, against a federal limit of 4 ng/L each.
The highest PFAS result was PFBS 3.8 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Bellaire Public Water System (latest sample June 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 Bellaire Public Water System's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 0 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 52 µg/L and the highest single sample was 62.3 µg/L, from 28 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 9.7 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 9.7 µg/L and the highest single sample was 12.3 µg/L, from 28 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 0 µg/L (2019) | 52 µg/L | 62.3 µg/L | 28 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 9.7 µg/L | 9.7 µg/L | 12.3 µg/L | 28 |
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 99 samples was 3.5 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 2.84 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic: the highest of 7 samples was 3.1 µg/L (limit 10); detections averaged 3.1; none over the limit.
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 99 | 3.5 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 7 | 3.1 µg/L | 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. tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was detected in 19 of 46 samples, highest 4.8 µg/L (limit 5). Benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride were not detected in 46 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 46 | 0 of 46 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 46 | 0 of 46 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 46 | 0 of 46 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 46 | 0 of 46 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 46 | 19 of 46 | 4.8 µg/L | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 46 | 0 of 46 | 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: mercury in 2 of 10 samples, highest 1.9 µg/L (limit 2). Not detected: atrazine in 8 samples, alachlor in 8 samples, chromium in 8 samples, cadmium in 8 samples, barium in 7 samples, selenium in 7 samples, thallium in 7 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 | 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 | 7 | 0 of 7 | not detected | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 10 | 2 of 10 | 1.9 µg/L | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | 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, 2 of 530 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Bellaire Public Water System tested positive (0.38%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 60 did. E. coli was never found in the 6 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 Bellaire Public Water System adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Bellaire Public Water System.
Measured fluoride: 1.14 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2018 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.96 to 1.39 mg/L across 7 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 Bellaire Public Water System, 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.
No microcystin was detected in the 40 raw-water samples.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (54 samples).
In all, 94 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on May 4, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 40 | 0 | not detected |
| Treated water | 54 | 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
EPA estimated the service area of Bellaire Public Water System 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 4,694 residents are inside the boundary, 110% of the 4,278 people Bellaire Public Water System 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 OH0700114 (EPA ECHO).
Bellaire Public Water System's own pages: wtov9.com, timesleaderonline.com
Notable facts: villageofbellaire.org, villageofbellaire.org, en.wikipedia.org, wtov9.com
History: villageofbellaire.org, en.wikipedia.org, timesleaderonline.com, villageofbellaire.org
Water quality: villageofbellaire.org
Planned work: villageofbellaire.org
Water pressure: villageofbellaire.org, villageofbellaire.org
Capital projects: villageofbellaire.org
Rates: villageofbellaire.org, villageofbellaire.org
Sewers: villageofbellaire.org, wtov9.com
Treatment: villageofbellaire.org, data.epa.gov
Supply stress: villageofbellaire.org, timesleaderonline.com
