Water system
Bridgeport Public Water System
EPA ID OH0700612 · Belmont County · 2,830 people served
Bridgeport Public Water System buys its water from Martins Ferry Public Water System.
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Shallow alluvial aquifer along the Ohio River
- Water bodies
- Ohio River (via alluvial aquifer)
- Active wells
- 8
- Serves
- 6,980 people · Belmont County
- EPA ID
- OH0701212
About this area's water Martins Ferry Public Water System
Did you know
- The plant's ozone system -- oxygen plus high-voltage electricity -- is demonstrated to visitors with a jar of raw water next to a jar of ozone-treated water.
- Crews test water daily at 35 points throughout the distribution system.
- The city markets raw or treated water to shale gas operations as a 'competitively priced, consistent, local water supply,' separate from its regular retail service; water tap fees start at $1,500.
- Bridgeport abandoned its own PFAS-contaminated wells and now buys Martins Ferry water, so Martins Ferry's aquifer supplies two Ohio River towns; the two systems also keep an emergency interconnection, unused in 2025.
Source: timesleaderonline.commartinsferry.orgmartinsferry.org
History4
- 1997The current water treatment plant was completed, described by the city at the time as the most advanced facility of its kind in the region.
- not datedNeighboring Bridgeport, drawing from the same Ohio River alluvial aquifer, discontinued its own wells after PFAS was found and switched to buying finished water from Martins Ferry; Bridgeport's 2025…
- 2021A Times Leader profile reported the plant fully in compliance, with Ohio EPA testing then finding no PFAS in the eight wells.
- 2025The city's 2025 CCR reports PFOA detected in finished water at 6.1 and 5.6 ng/L under UCMR 5 monitoring -- above the 4.0 ng/L federal MCL for PFOA -- and a monitoring and reporting violation for…
Source: martinsferry.orgtimesleaderonline.commartinsferry.org
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Groundwater from eight wells at the north end of First Street, between the Ohio River and State Route 7, drawing a shallow alluvial aquifer roughly 30 feet below ground. Treatment uses a traveling bridge filter and ozonation -- ozone generated from oxygen and high-voltage electricity -- followed by…
Source: martinsferry.orgmartinsferry.orgtimesleaderonline.com
Water pressure
Not published. Neither the 2025 CCR, the city's water department page, nor the utility policy document states a distribution system pressure.
Source: martinsferry.orgmartinsferry.org
What it costs
No rate schedule is published online. The city's water department and utility office pages give only fees, not volumetric rates: water tap fees start at $1,500 (assessed by the…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| PFOA Sampled 5/14/2025 under UCMR 5; a second sample on 11/12/2025 measured 5.6 ng/L. Both exceed the 4.0 ng/L MCL, whose… | 6.1 ng/L | 4.0 (federal… | 2025 |
| PFOA Second 2025 UCMR 5 sample, 11/12/2025. | 5.6 ng/L | 4.0 (federal… | 2025 |
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 8.82-13.8 ug/L; no violation. | 13.8 ug/L | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) Range 7.07-8.82 ug/L; no violation. | 8.82 ug/L | 60 | 2025 |
| Fluoride Range 1.0-1.2 ppm. | 1.083 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Total chlorine Range 0.81-0.96 ppm. | 0.88 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Nitrate Not detected above the reporting limit. | <0.100 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Bromate Not detected; monitored because the plant ozonates. | <0.008 ppb | 10 | 2025 |
| Lead The CCR reports no violation, but its lead-and-copper table also states '1 out of 20 samples were found to have lead… | 1.80 ppb (90th… | 15 (action… | 2025 |
| Copper Zero of 20 samples above the action level. | 0.183 ppm (90th… | 1.3 (action… | 2025 |
Source: martinsferry.orgtimesleaderonline.com
EPA compliance record · Bridgeport Public Water System
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 4.8 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
9 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 4 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 5 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 · Martins Ferry Public Water System (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 3.5 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
3 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).
Projects & plans1
Planned or needed
- Combined sewer separation program · planned
The city's sewer department page describes an Ohio EPA-mandated plan to separate the combined storm and wastewater collection system, which currently causes…
Source: martinsferry.orgmartinsferry.org
Supply stress
The eight wells sit in a shallow alluvial aquifer roughly 30 feet down, directly between the Ohio River and SR 7. Ohio EPA's source water assessment rates it high susceptibility because there is no protective clay or shale layer over the aquifer, the aquifer is shallow, and businesses sit inside the protection area boundaries. That…
Sewers
Sanitary
Wastewater is treated by the East Ohio Regional Wastewater Authority (EORWA), a separate entity from the city that treats flows collected from several communities including Martins Ferry; residents receive a separate bill from EORWA for treatment. The city operates the collection system. Sewer tap fee is $2,000. Plant capacity and…
Storm
Martins Ferry still operates combined sewer lines, which the city says cause sewer backups and breaks during heavy rainfall, and is working under an Ohio EPA mandate to separate the combined storm and wastewater collection system.
Source: martinsferry.org
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Present in 1 ZIP code
Serves
No ZIP code has Bridgeport Public Water System on record as its main water supplier.
Also present in 1 more ZIP code
- 43912 · Pease Township and Bridgeport28% 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
Bridgeport Public Water System buys its water from Martins Ferry Public Water System.
No other system is on record buying water from Bridgeport Public Water System.
What the records show about Bridgeport Public Water System
Who runs it
EPA's record says Bridgeport Public Water System has 1,200 service connections and serves 2,830 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 740-635-1244.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Bridgeport Public Water System buys water that Martins Ferry Public Water System treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Martins Ferry Public Water System: chlorine disinfection, fluoridation, ozone, and sand or media filtration.
Bridgeport 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's record shows no health-based violations for Bridgeport Public Water System since 2015.
EPA logs 9 violations of any kind since 2020: 4 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 5 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 Bridgeport Public Water System was 4.8 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 5.5 ppb, in the period ending June 2022.
EPA has 9 sampling periods on file for Bridgeport 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 Bridgeport Public Water System sent EPA, 1,244 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 | 14 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 2 |
| Unknown material | 1,201 |
| Not lead | 27 |
| All lines | 1,244 |
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
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Bridgeport Public Water System (latest sample December 2020). The highest result was PFHxS at 8.7 ppt (ppt is the same unit as ng/L), against Ohio's action level of 140 ppt. Those action levels are the ones Ohio EPA used for the survey; the 2024 federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 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 Bridgeport Public Water System's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 16.1 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 25.1 µg/L and the highest single sample was 33.9 µg/L, from 13 samples taken from 2013 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 0 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 6.1 µg/L, from 13 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 16.1 µg/L (2019) | 25.1 µg/L | 33.9 µg/L | 13 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 0 µg/L | 3 µg/L | 6.1 µg/L | 13 |
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 8 samples was 2.86 mg/L (as nitrogen), in 2019, the last year sampled. 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) | 8 | 2.86 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.
Solvents and fuels
EPA's file holds results for all six solvent and fuel compounds it checked. trichloroethylene (TCE) was detected in 5 of 35 samples, highest 2.4 µg/L (limit 5); tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was detected in 13 of 35 samples, highest 7 µg/L (limit 5, 1 over). Benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, and vinyl chloride were not detected in 35 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 35 | 0 of 35 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 35 | 0 of 35 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 35 | 0 of 35 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 35 | 5 of 35 | 2.4 µg/L | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 35 | 13 of 35 | 7 µg/L | 1 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 35 | 0 of 35 | 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 all nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: barium in 2 of 2 samples, highest 52.3 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 2 samples, alachlor in 2 samples, 2,4-D in 3 samples, chromium in 3 samples, cadmium in 2 samples, mercury in 2 samples, selenium in 2 samples, thallium in 2 samples.
| 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 |
| 2,4-D | Farm chemical | 70 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 2 | 2 of 2 | 52.3 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.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 3 of 288 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Bridgeport Public Water System tested positive (1.04%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 36 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 Bridgeport Public Water System buys its water from Martins Ferry Public Water System, 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 Martins Ferry Public Water System, which treats the water Bridgeport Public Water System buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.85 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2017 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.81 to 0.85 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 Martins Ferry Public Water System, which supplies Bridgeport Public Water System, last sampled in 2025 (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 Bridgeport 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 1,707 residents are inside the boundary, 60% of the 2,830 people Bridgeport 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.
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 OH0700612 (EPA ECHO).
