Southwest Regional Water District

• It began in 1968 as a farmer-organized rural water cooperative and only became a political subdivision in 1992, which let it borrow tax-free.
• Its aquifer-protection consortium is an odd coalition: Butler County Water & Sewer, the cities of Hamilton, Fairfield and Cincinnati, and the Molson-Coors brewery.
• The average district household uses about 155 gallons of water a day.
• In all of 2025 the district drew just 69,090 gallons through its emergency connection with the City of Hamilton, across five days.

• 1968Organized as the Southwestern Butler County Water Association, a not-for-profit rural water cooperative: a 2.3 mgd plant, 160 miles of main, about 2,800 users.
• 1978-1981Added 150 miles of main and 1,100 users, expanded treatment capacity to 3.6 mgd, and renamed itself The Water Association.
• 1992Completed a $3,000,000 improvement (4 elevated tanks, a clearwell, 15 miles of transmission main) and reorganized as the Southwest Regional Water District, effective Sept 1, 1992.
• 1997The North Water Treatment Plant began operating in May 1997, ending the W. Guy Metcalf plant's run as the district's only production facility.
• 2003Ohio EPA found the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer very productive but highly susceptible to contamination.

How it is treated

Two plants treat Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer groundwater: W. Guy Metcalf (Ross Twp, 3.6 MGD, three 1,600-gpm wells) does chlorination, fluoridation and softening; North WTP (St. Clair Twp, 6 MGD, four wells) adds iron and manganese removal.

Water pressure

Not published; the district operates 18 storage tanks across its pressure zones but states no psi figure.

$7.05 per 1,000 gallons

$7.05 per 1,000 gallons effective Feb 1, 2026, plus a $20.00/month minimum service availability charge, raised from $19.00.

EPA compliance record

Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 1.3 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).

EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.

Recent and current work

• SR 122 Water Main Replacement (West Alexandria Rd to Hill St) · under construction
  Listed in progress on the district's capital projects page; no cost published.
• Darrtown Rd Water Main Replacement (Stillwell Beckett Rd to Shollenbarger Rd) · under construction
  Listed in progress on the district's capital projects page; no cost published.
• SR 503 Water Main Replacement (Tolbert Rd to Oxford Middletown Rd) · completed
  Listed complete on the district's capital projects page.
• W. Guy Metcalf WTP Well #1 and Well #2 rehabilitation · completed
  Both well rehabilitations listed complete; the plant runs three production wells.
• Water System Master Plan · completed
  Listed complete on the district's capital projects page.

Planned or needed

• SR 177 Water Main Replacement (North St to Somerville Rd) · planned
  Listed as planned on the district's capital projects page.
• Taylor Rd Water Main Replacement (Ringwood Rd to Jones Rd) · planned
  Listed as planned on the district's capital projects page.
• US 27 Water Main Replacement south of Minton Rd · planned
  About 1,600 feet of water main to be replaced.
• North Plant Rehabilitation · planned
  Listed as planned on the district's capital projects page; no cost published.

Ohio EPA determined in 2003 that the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer, though very productive, is highly susceptible to contamination. The district's CCR says nitrate in treated water (1.26-2.23 ppm) confirms manmade influence, well under the 10 ppm standard. No drought or capacity limits reported.

Sanitary

The district sells water only. Its own Sewer Service Rates page carries no rates and instead points customers to Butler County Water & Sewer Department and the City of Hamilton. Rural unincorporated parts of the service area rely on on-site septic systems.

Storm

Not detailed in district sources; the service area is largely rural and low-density.

Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.