Water system
Urbana City
EPA ID OH1101212 · Champaign County · 11,428 people served · owned by a local government
Urbana City treats its own water from local wells (sand and gravel outwash aquifer).
The system's record
- Active wells
- 5
- Serves
- 11,428 people · Champaign County
- EPA ID
- OH1101212
About this area's water
Did you know
- Urbana's tap water is naturally very hard - 315 to 350 mg/L, about 20 grains - and the city neither softens nor fluoridates it; the CCR simply tells residents to set their home softeners no higher than 16 grains.
- Some of Urbana's 87 miles of water main are over a hundred years old. The CCR is blunt about what patching them accomplishes: the water pressure just 'will find the next weakest point in the line.'
- The city produced 666,474,100 gallons of drinking water in 2025 from just five wells.
- Ohio EPA has found nitrate, tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene in Urbana's raw and treated water at levels of concern since 1991 - a documented manmade fingerprint on the aquifer that the city answers with granular…
- All three of Urbana's 2024-25 Ohio EPA citations were paperwork under the new lead service line rules - a late inventory and uncertified notifications - not lead in the water; zero of 30 tap samples exceeded the lead…
Source: urbanaohio.comurbanaohio.com
History6
- 1915Urbana's first sewage treatment plant built at the site of the present Water Reclamation Facility.
- 1954New 1.5 MGD wastewater treatment plant constructed.
- 1973Wastewater plant expanded with aeration tanks and aerobic digesters to 3 MGD.
- 1991Ohio EPA source-water study found nitrate, tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene in both raw and treated water at levels of concern - the documented start of a manmade influence on the aquifer that…
- 2013-2015New 4.5 MGD oxidation-ditch Water Reclamation Facility built (construction September 2013 to September 2015).
- 2015Phase 1 of the multiyear water main replacement completed: E. Court, E. Church and E. Ward Streets between Main St. and Jefferson Ave., plus Amherst and Wooddale Drive.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Five operating wells in two well fields - SR 29 West and Old Troy Pike - drawing on the Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer and feeding two treatment plants that share the same high-yield aquifer, so finished-water chemistry stays stable year round. Disinfection is with sodium hypochlorite. A granular…
Source: urbanaohio.comurbanaohio.com
Water pressure
No psi figure is published. The system is described in terms of zones instead: two booster stations, in service since 2025, lift water from the low-pressure to the high-pressure…
Source: urbanaohio.comurbanaohio.com
What it costs
Urbana posts 'Water Rate and Fee Information' and 'Sewer Rate and Fee Information' only as downloads from its Utility…
Source: urbanaohio.com
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 30 samples over the action level; no individual results above the AL. | 5.5 ppb | 15 (AL) | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 30 samples over the action level. | 0.149 ppm | 1.3 (AL) | 2025 |
| Total chlorine Range 0.89 to 1.1 ppm; sodium hypochlorite. | 0.96 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 1.5 to 5.2 ppb - very low, as expected for a groundwater system with little organic carbon. | 5.2 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Nitrate Range 1.77 to 2.45 ppm. Ohio EPA links elevated nitrate in this aquifer to manmade influence documented since 1991. | 2.45 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| 1,1,1-Trichloroethane Range <0.08 to 0.1 ppb. Discharge from metal degreasing sites - the same industrial signature as the aquifer's PCE/TCE… | 0.05 ppb | 200 | 2025 |
| Gross alpha radioactivity Naturally occurring radiological decay; monitored less than annually. | 4.67 pCi/L | 15 | 2022 |
| Fluoride Range 0.19 to 0.27 ppm. Naturally occurring - the city does not fluoridate. | 0.27 ppm | 4 | 2023 |
| Barium Range 0.11 to 0.173 ppm; erosion of natural deposits. | 0.173 ppm | 2 | 2023 |
| Selenium Well below the MCL. | 3.6 ppb | 50 | 2023 |
Source: urbanaohio.com
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 5.5 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
8 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 2 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); 1 health-based.
Projects & plans9
Recent and current work
- Phase 1 water main replacement · 2015 · completed
E. Court, E. Church and E. Ward Streets between Main St. and Jefferson Ave., plus Amherst and Wooddale Drive. No cost published. - Phase 2 water main replacement · unknown · completed
Scioto St., Ames, Finch and Crescent. The 2025 CCR states the phase is complete but gives no completion year and no cost. - System-wide water meter replacement · 2022 · completed
No cost published. - South High Street water line replacement · unknown · completed
Partial replacement from Miami St. to State Route 55. The CCR states it is complete but does not date it. - Two new booster stations · 2025 · completed
In service since 2025, moving water from the low to the high pressure zone on the east end. No cost published. - Service line inventory and customer notifications · 2025 · completed
Inventory submitted to Ohio EPA January 8, 2025 after missing the October 16, 2024 federal deadline; lead mapping complete and the inventory posted for 2026.… - West Court Bridge water main connection · 2026 · under construction
New water main connection carried on the West Court Bridge project, completing summer 2026. No cost published.
Source: urbanaohio.comurbanaohio.com
Planned or needed
- Grimes Area water line replacement · 2026-2027 · planned
Set to begin in 2026 and wrap up in 2027 per the 2025 CCR. No cost published. - Lead service line replacement plan (Get the Lead Out) · 2027 · planned
US EPA requires Urbana to submit its replacement plan by November 2027; the city is partnering with the Get the Lead Out program. No cost published.
Source: urbanaohio.comurbanaohio.com
Supply stress
Ohio EPA's source water assessment rates the aquifer supplying both the SR 29 West and Old Troy Pike well fields as HIGHLY susceptible to contamination, on four grounds: no protective clay layer over the aquifer, a shallow water table less than 30 feet below the surface, significant potential contaminant sources inside the protection…
Source: urbanaohio.com
Sewers
Sanitary
City of Urbana Water Reclamation Facility, an oxidation-ditch plant built September 2013 to September 2015 with an average design flow of 4.5 MGD and a peak flow of 9.25 MGD, discharging under an NPDES permit into the Mad River watershed. The site's history runs back to a 1915 plant, a 1.5 MGD plant in 1954, a 1973 expansion to 3 MGD…
Storm
Not published. We found no stormwater utility, storm sewer fee, or storm system description on the city's pages.
Source: urbanaohio.comurbanaohio.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
- 43078 · Urbana55% 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
Urbana City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
No other system is on record buying water from Urbana City.
What the records show about Urbana City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Urbana City as owned by a local government. It has 5,170 service connections and serves 11,428 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 937-652-4335.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Urbana City: cartridge filtration, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, granular activated carbon, 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 counts 1 health-based violation for Urbana City 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 8 violations of any kind since 2020: 2 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); 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 Urbana City was 5.5 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 8.3 ppb, in the period ending December 2020.
EPA has 8 sampling periods on file for Urbana City 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 Urbana City sent EPA, 4,764 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 24 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 1,268 |
| Unknown material | 1,593 |
| Not lead | 1,879 |
| All lines | 4,764 |
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 5 samples of the water entering the pipes of Urbana City in 2023 and measured 29 PFAS.
PFOA and PFOS were not detected, against a federal limit of 4 ng/L each.
The highest PFAS result was 6:2 FTS 9.8 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 2 plants of Urbana City (latest sample August 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 Urbana City as sampled, most recently May 2026.
| 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 Urbana City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 4 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 30 µg/L and the highest single sample was 48.2 µg/L, from 40 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 0 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 4.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 10 µg/L, from 40 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 4 µg/L (2019) | 30 µg/L | 48.2 µg/L | 40 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 0 µg/L | 4.2 µg/L | 10 µg/L | 40 |
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 16 samples was 2.98 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2018; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 2.72 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 4 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 16 | 2.98 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 4 | 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. tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was detected in 1 of 69 samples, highest 1.3 µg/L (limit 5). Benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride were not detected in 69 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 69 | 0 of 69 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 69 | 0 of 69 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 69 | 0 of 69 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 69 | 0 of 69 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 69 | 1 of 69 | 1.3 µg/L | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 69 | 0 of 69 | 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 4 of 4 samples, highest 154 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 4 samples, alachlor in 4 samples, 2,4-D in 3 samples, chromium in 4 samples, cadmium in 4 samples, mercury in 4 samples, selenium in 4 samples, thallium in 4 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| 2,4-D | Farm chemical | 70 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 4 | 4 of 4 | 154 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | 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 964 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Urbana City tested positive (0.21%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 120 did. E. coli was never found in the 2 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 Urbana City has fluoride from natural sources, but at a level below what is recommended for preventing tooth decay, and does not adjust it. The level it reports is 0.19 mg/L.
EPA's treatment table lists no fluoridation step at Urbana City.
Measured fluoride: 0.23 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2017 (too little to protect teeth); samples ran from 0.21 to 0.26 mg/L across 4 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 Urbana City, 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.
Water and sewer bills
Ohio EPA's 2023 rate survey puts the water bill at Urbana City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $430 a year, about $36 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $489 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $257 | $315 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $430 | $489 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $689 | $698 |
The survey lists it as “Urbana”. These are inside-city rates and annual bills at the use shown.
Source: Ohio EPA 2023 Sewer and Water Rate Survey (Ohio State University, May 2025).
How well the service area is mapped
EPA estimated the service area of Urbana City 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 11,087 residents are inside the boundary, 97% of the 11,428 people Urbana City 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 OH1101212 (EPA ECHO).
Urbana City's own pages: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
Notable facts: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
History: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
Water quality: urbanaohio.com
Planned work: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
Water pressure: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
Capital projects: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
Rates: urbanaohio.com
Sewers: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
Treatment: urbanaohio.com, urbanaohio.com
Supply stress: urbanaohio.com
