Water system
Brown County Rural Water
EPA ID OH0802012 · Brown County · 32,090 people served · owned by a local government
Brown County Rural Water treats its own water from Ohio River Valley Aquifer (wells).
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Ohio River Aquifer (sand-and-gravel river-valley aquifer)
- Active wells
- 13
- Serves
- 32,090 people · Brown County
- EPA ID
- OH0802012
About this area's water
Did you know
- BCRWA exists because two separate citizen groups, one around Feesburg and one around Sardinia, merged so the new nonprofit could qualify for federal Farmers Home Administration loans.
- The plant uses lime softening rather than the coagulation-filtration typical of surface water plants, pushing pH to about 10.3 and then recarbonating it back down to about 9.5.
- Because most of Brown County sits on shale that yields only a few gallons a minute, the buried-valley Ohio River Aquifer - good for over 500 gpm - is the area's only significant groundwater source.
- In the 2023 UCMR 5 national monitoring round, none of the listed unregulated contaminants were detected in BCRWA's water; a 2020 state PFAS screen also came back clean.
History5
- early 1970sCitizen groups in Feesburg and Sardinia, whose outlying areas still relied on wells and cisterns, merged to form BCRWA as a private nonprofit.
- early 1970sBCRWA organized as a nonprofit association specifically to qualify for Farmers Home Administration loans to build rural water lines.
- 1999BCRWA formed its Wellhead Protection Committee and adopted a Wellhead Protection Plan for the Ohio River Aquifer well field.
- 2020Sampled under Ohio's statewide PFAS initiative; six PFAS compounds tested and none detected in finished drinking water.
- 2023Participated in the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule round (UCMR 5); no UCMR 5 contaminants were detected.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
13 wells (3-6 at a time, up to 450 gpm each) feed aeration, then lime softening in a clarifier to pH ~10.3 with alum, recarbonation back to pH ~9.5, four anthracite-over-sand filters, then chlorine (~1.0 mg/L) and fluoride into a 450,000-gallon clear well.
Water pressure
not published as psi; five 750-gpm high-service pumps and 13 elevated storage towers hold pressure across the rural distribution area
What it costs
$11.00 per 1,000 gallons
2026 schedule: 5/8-inch residential minimum $28.00/month including 2,000 gallons; next 48,000 gallons $11.00 per 1,000; above 50,000 gallons $10.00.
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Disinfection byproduct; range 20.6-30.6 ppb; well under the MCL. | 25.6 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Disinfection byproduct; range ND-2.9 ppb. | 2.9 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Nitrate Fertilizer runoff and natural deposits; about a seventh of the MCL. | 1.41 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Fluoride Added as required by Ohio EPA; range 0.77-1.1 ppm. | 1.0 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Total Chlorine (residual disinfectant) Residual disinfectant; range roughly 0.87-1.0 ppm. | 0.96 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 30 sites sampled, none above the action level; detections ND-3.3 ppb. | 0.0 ppb | 15 (action… | 2023 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 30 sites sampled, none above the action level; detections ND-0.019 ppm. | 0.009 ppm | 1.3 (action… | 2023 |
| Barium Naturally occurring; far below the MCL. | 0.0065 ppm | 2 | 2023 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0.7 ppb in 2023 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
Supply stress
Ohio EPA rates this aquifer HIGH susceptibility to contamination: a thin protective clay layer, a water table less than 40 feet down, significant potential contaminant sources nearby, and periodic serious Ohio River flooding. It is the county's only significant aquifer, since Brown County shale yields little water.
Sewers
Sanitary
BCRWA is a drinking-water-only association; its materials describe no sanitary sewer service.
Main supplier in 1 ZIP code
Serves
Main water supplier in 2 ZIP codes
- 45101 · Aberdeen72% of residents
- 45167 · Ripley46% of residents
Also present in 1 more ZIP code
- 45130 · Clark Township and Hamersville4% 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
Brown County Rural Water does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
3 systems on record buy water from Brown County Rural Water: Georgetown Village, Hamersville Village, Sardinia Village.
What the records show about Brown County Rural Water
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Brown County Rural Water as owned by a local government. It has 11,679 service connections and serves 32,090 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 2025. Its office telephone on EPA's record is 937-375-4106.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Brown County Rural Water: aeration, 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 Brown County Rural Water since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Brown County Rural Water since 2020.
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 2023, the 90th-percentile lead result at Brown County Rural Water was 0.7 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
EPA has 3 sampling periods on file for Brown County Rural Water 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 Brown County Rural Water sent EPA, 10,282 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 0 |
| Not lead | 10,282 |
| All lines | 10,282 |
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 2 samples of the water entering the pipes of Brown County Rural Water 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 Brown County Rural Water (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 1 plant of Brown County Rural Water as sampled, most recently August 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 Brown County Rural Water's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 32.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 34.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 41.4 µg/L, from 65 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 0 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 0.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 8.6 µg/L, from 65 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 32.9 µg/L (2019) | 34.9 µg/L | 41.4 µg/L | 65 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 0 µg/L | 0.9 µg/L | 8.6 µg/L | 65 |
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 2.5 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.78 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) | 8 | 2.5 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. Benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and vinyl chloride were not detected in 2 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | 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. Not detected: atrazine, alachlor, chromium, cadmium, barium, 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 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 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, 8 of 2,608 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Brown County Rural Water tested positive (0.31%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 360 did. E. coli was never found in the 8 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 Brown County Rural Water adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Brown County Rural Water.
Measured fluoride: 0.8 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2017 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.8 to 0.89 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 Brown County Rural Water, 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 Brown County Rural Water 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 3,234 residents are inside the boundary, 10% of the 32,090 people Brown County Rural Water reports serving. With so much of its territory outside the polygon, part of the system shows on the map as private wells.
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 — 3 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 OH0802012 (EPA ECHO).
