Water system
Bethesda Public Water System
EPA ID OH0700511 · Belmont County · 1,382 people served · owned by a local government
Bethesda Public Water System buys its water from Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3.
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Alluvial aquifer along the Ohio River, north of Bellaire
- Water bodies
- Ohio River (via alluvial aquifer)
- Active wells
- 1
- Serves
- 26,822 people · Belmont County
- EPA ID
- OH0700412
About this area's water
Did you know
- Bethesda's original names were Burr's Mills (when the railroad arrived in 1852) and then Fairmount (1855) before it took its current biblical name from the Bethesda Methodist Church.
- The village's population has stayed relatively stable for over a century (1,182 in 1920; 1,211 in 2020), with peaks of 1,429 in 1980 and 1,413 in 2000.
- Bethesda's 1920 clock tower atop the former Orrison Cigar Company building was removed in 2010 and restored, reopening in 2017 as the Murray Family Memorial Plaza honoring military veterans.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
History5
- 1852Railroad reaches the settlement; a station named 'Burr's Mills' (after sawmill operator Merrick S. Burr) is established in Goshen Township, Belmont County.
- 1855Burr lays out a village named Fairmount; the post office (retaining the name Bethesda, after a local Methodist church) is later relocated there and its name becomes the village's permanent name.
- 1910Village of Bethesda formally incorporated.
- 2017-2023Ohio EPA repeatedly cited the village's Consumer Confidence Reports for missing required content (turbidity language, MCL/MCLG definitions, inaccurate TTHM/HAA5 data, broken CCR web link) and for a…
- unknownNo published record found of when Bethesda stopped operating its own wells/plant and began purchasing treated water from the county district.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgbethesdaohio.org
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Bethesda does not treat its own water; per its 2025 CCR it purchases finished water from the Belmont County Sanitary Sewer District (referred to elsewhere as the Belmont County Water & Sewer District), whose wells draw from an alluvial aquifer near the Ohio River in Bellaire, Ohio. No public…
Source: bethesdaohio.org
Water pressure
Not published — no CCR, engineering report, or pressure-zone map for OH0700511 or the Belmont County Water & Sewer District was located.
What it costs
No Bethesda-specific retail water or sewer rate schedule was found. The Belmont County Water & Sewer District's own posted rate (effective Jan. 1, 2025) is $26.92 minimum plus…
Source: belmontcountywater.com
Water quality & impurities9
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluoride Range 0.89-1.19 ppm; erosion of natural deposits/water additive; no violation. | 1.08 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Nitrate Range 0.555-0.555 ppm; well within MCL. | 0.555 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Gross Alpha Erosion of natural deposits. | 0.112 pCi/L | 15 | 2020 |
| Radium 228 (combined Ra-226/228) Erosion of natural deposits. | 0.668 pCi/L | 5.0 | 2020 |
| Chlorine (residual) Additive used to control microbes; no violation. | 0.86-1.2 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| TTHM Range 33.2-44.4 ppb; by-product of chlorination. | 44.4 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| HAA5 Range 17.1-23.7 ppb; by-product of chlorination. | 23.7 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Lead (90th pct.) 2 of 60 samples exceeded the 15 ppb action level in the first half of 2025; 0 of 62 samples exceeded it in the second… | 1.75 ppb | 15 (AL) | 2025… |
| Copper (90th pct.) 0 of 60/62 samples exceeded the action level in either half of 2025 (90th pct. 0.43 ppm and 0.14 ppm). | 0.43 ppm | 1.3 (AL) | 2025… |
Source: bethesdaohio.org
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2024Lead and Copper Rule Revisions · lead service line inventory missing or incomplete (a records requirement, not a lead test result) · returned to compliance
9 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 1 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 7 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records); 1 health-based.
EPA compliance record · Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2026 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2024Lead and Copper Rule Revisions · lead service line inventory missing or incomplete (a records requirement, not a lead test result) · returned to compliance
4 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 1 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 2 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records); 1 health-based.
Supply stress
The Ohio EPA source-water susceptibility assessment for the district's well field rates it HIGH susceptibility, citing a relatively permeable silty-clay layer over the aquifer, shallow aquifer depth (under 20 feet), VOC-contaminated soils identified within a one-year time of travel, significant potential contaminant sources in the…
Source: bethesdaohio.org
Sewers
Sanitary
The Village of Bethesda operates its own wastewater treatment facility, per the village's Public Works page; we found no public record of the plant's capacity, receiving stream, or any consent decree.
Source: bethesdaohio.org
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
- 43719 · Bethesda55% 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
Bethesda Public Water System buys its water from Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3.
No other system is on record buying water from Bethesda Public Water System.
What the records show about Bethesda Public Water System
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Bethesda Public Water System as owned by a local government. It has 534 service connections and serves 1,382 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 740-391-2957.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Bethesda Public Water System buys water that Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3: corrosion control, chlorine disinfection, fluoridation, ion-exchange softening, and sand or media filtration.
Bethesda Public Water System adds nothing of its own on that table.
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 1 health-based violation for Bethesda Public Water System since 2015. Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a required treatment step not carried out. It falls into 1 separate problem (one contaminant or rule in one year); the table lists it.
EPA logs 9 violations of any kind since 2020: 1 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 7 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records); 1 health-based.
| Year | Contaminant or rule | Kind | Measured | Limit | Status in EPA's record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | lead service line inventory missing or incomplete (a records requirement, not a lead test result) | 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 December 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Bethesda 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.
EPA has 6 sampling periods on file for Bethesda Public Water System since 2016, the first ending in 2018; 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 Bethesda Public Water System sent EPA, 592 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 0 |
| Not lead | 592 |
| All lines | 592 |
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
The water Bethesda Public Water System buys is treated by Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3, so the results below are Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3's.
EPA's fifth national round of testing (UCMR 5) took 3 samples of the water entering the pipes of Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 in 2023 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 Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 (latest sample June 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 2 plants of Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 as sampled, most recently February 2026.
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 Bethesda Public Water System's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 34.4 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 69.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 87 µg/L, from 55 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 6.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 32.4 µg/L and the highest single sample was 47.6 µg/L, from 56 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 34.4 µg/L (2019) | 69.3 µg/L | 87 µg/L | 55 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 6.5 µg/L | 32.4 µg/L | 47.6 µg/L | 56 |
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 Bethesda Public Water System buys is treated by Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3, so the results below are Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3's.
Nitrate: the highest of 7 samples was 1.86 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2017; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.03 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 2 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 7 | 1.86 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 2 | 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 Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3.
Solvents and fuels
The water Bethesda Public Water System buys is treated by Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3, so the results below are Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3'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 6 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | 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 Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Bethesda Public Water System buys is treated by Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3, so the results below are Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3's.
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: barium in 1 of 2 samples, highest 23.5 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine, alachlor, chromium, cadmium, mercury, selenium, and thallium, in 2 samples each.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 2 | 1 of 2 | 23.5 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | 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 Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 0 of 187 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Bethesda Public Water System tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 24 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 Bethesda Public Water System buys its water from Barnesville, 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 Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3, which treats the water Bethesda Public Water System buys.
Measured fluoride: 1 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3, which supplies Bethesda Public Water System, in 2017 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.98 to 1 mg/L across 2 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 2 UCMR 5 samples at Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3, which supplies Bethesda Public Water System, last sampled in 2023 (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.
How well the service area is mapped
EPA estimated the service area of Bethesda Public Water System with a computer model rather than drawing it from the utility's map, so its edges are approximate.
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 OH0700511 (EPA ECHO).
Notable facts: en.wikipedia.org
History: en.wikipedia.org, bethesdaohio.org
Water quality: bethesdaohio.org
Rates: belmontcountywater.com
Sewers: bethesdaohio.org
Treatment: bethesdaohio.org
Supply stress: bethesdaohio.org
