Water system
Clark County Northridge
EPA ID OH1201003 · Clark County · 8,874 people served
Clark County Northridge buys its water from Springfield City.
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Mad River Valley Buried Aquifer
- Water bodies
- Mad River
- Active wells
- 12
- Serves
- 60,680 people · Clark County
- EPA ID
- OH1204412
About this area's water Springfield City
Did you know
- Each of Springfield's 12 wells can pump 3.5 million gallons a day from 100-115 feet down, feeding a plant rated for 36 MGD that actually averages about 9.
- The raw water is genuinely hard — about 347 mg/L — and lime softening cuts it to roughly 147 mg/L, from 20.2 grains per gallon down to 8.6.
- Water moves through two parallel treatment trains, each 100 feet wide and 465 feet long and each able to handle 18 million gallons a day.
- In 2025 the plant produced just over 3.5 billion gallons, and its first PFAS test found PFOS at 2.80 parts per trillion against a brand-new federal limit of 4.
History4
- 1882The City of Springfield's first public water system was established (not 1801, which is the city's founding date).
- 1958The Eagle City Road water treatment plant was constructed, replacing the older Pumphouse Road treatment facility.
- 2025The plant produced 3,504,231,000 gallons of potable water, met or exceeded all drinking water standards, and held an Unconditional License to Operate.
- 2025First PFAS sampling event under the 2024 federal PFAS rule was completed October 16, 2025; PFOS was detected at 2.80 ppt against the new 4 ppt MCL, all other regulated PFAS non-detect.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Groundwater from 12 wells (100-115 ft deep) along Eagle City Road in the Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer feeds two parallel treatment trains rated 18 MGD each: lime for softening, ferric sulfate to remove excess lime and suspended solids, coagulation/flocculation and sedimentation, filtration…
Water pressure
We found no citywide psi figure. The 2021 annual report notes an eastern pressure district expansion and booster pump station work.
What it costs
The city references a Water and Sewer Customer Fee Schedule PDF but publishes no readable per-ccf or per-1,000-gallon figure. The 2025 rate-increase article…
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Disinfection byproduct; range 20.6-23 ppb, well under the MCL. | 23 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Disinfection byproduct; range 1.6-3.9 ppb, far under the MCL. | 3.9 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Nitrate Roughly a tenth of the MCL despite an agricultural recharge area. | 1.11 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| PFOS Detected below but close to the new federal MCL; other five regulated PFAS non-detect. | 2.80 ppt | 4 | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 32 samples above the action level. | 0.00 ppb | 15 (action… | 2023 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 32 samples above the action level. | 0.0059 ppm | 1.3 (action… | 2023 |
| Fluoride Well under the MCL. | 0.22 ppm | 4 | 2023 |
| Barium Naturally occurring; about 1% of the MCL. | 0.0221 ppm | 2 | 2023 |
EPA compliance record · Clark County Northridge
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
EPA compliance record · Springfield City (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2023 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
2 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 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 & plans4
Recent and current work
- Water treatment plant and well field capital work · 2021 · completed
Eastern pressure district expansion, four high service pump replacements, four lime slaker replacements, rehabilitation of three wells, and removal of 12… - Lead and Copper Rule service line inventory · completed
Public service line inventory published online, listing material types by address. - PFAS monitoring under the 2024 federal PFAS rule · 2025 · under construction
First of the required sampling events completed October 16, 2025; monitoring program runs to the April 26, 2027 deadline.
Planned or needed
- Continued PFAS compliance monitoring · 2027 · planned
Federal rule requires finished-water PFAS monitoring completed by April 26, 2027; PFOS at 2.80 ppt sits just under the 4 ppt MCL.
Supply stress
The Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer well field has limited natural protection from infiltrating contaminants, and the city's CCR states the aquifer has a high susceptibility to contamination. The well field sits along the Mad River at Eagle City Road. Pressure is on source quality and a PFOS result near the new MCL, not on supply…
Sewers
Sanitary
The City of Springfield operates its own wastewater treatment plant discharging to the Mad River. Older parts of the collection system are combined, and combined sewer overflows are addressed under an Ohio EPA Long Term Control Plan update.
Storm
Stormwater in older neighborhoods moves through the combined sewer system, addressed under the same Long Term Control Plan. Plant staff also maintain open storm channels, including the U.S. 68 channel and Red Coach drainage tributary.
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Present in 2 ZIP codes
Serves
No ZIP code has Clark County Northridge on record as its main water supplier.
Also present in 2 more ZIP codes
- 45503 · Springfield20% of residents
- 45502 · German Township and Springfield6% 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
Clark County Northridge buys its water from Springfield City.
No other system is on record buying water from Clark County Northridge.
What the records show about Clark County Northridge
Who runs it
EPA's record says Clark County Northridge has 3,682 service connections and serves 8,874 people.
EPA classes it as a community water system, one that serves the same residents all year.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Clark County Northridge buys water that Springfield City treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Springfield City: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, lime softening, and sand or media filtration.
Clark County Northridge itself also registers: fluoridation.
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 Clark County Northridge since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Clark County Northridge 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Clark County Northridge 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 4 sampling periods on file for Clark County Northridge 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 Clark County Northridge sent EPA, 3,682 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 1,767 |
| Not lead | 1,915 |
| All lines | 3,682 |
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 Clark County Northridge in 2025 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 Springfield City (latest sample July 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 Springfield City as sampled, most recently April 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 Clark County Northridge's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 19.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 37.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 39.6 µg/L, from 16 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 7 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 8.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 8.8 µg/L, from 16 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 19.5 µg/L (2019) | 37.2 µg/L | 39.6 µg/L | 16 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 7 µg/L | 8.3 µg/L | 8.8 µg/L | 16 |
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 Clark County Northridge buys is treated by Springfield City, so the results below are Springfield City's.
Nitrate: the highest of 8 samples was 2.29 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2015; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.94 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 | 2.29 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 Springfield City.
Solvents and fuels
The water Clark County Northridge buys is treated by Springfield City, so the results below are Springfield City'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 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 of Springfield City.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Clark County Northridge buys is treated by Springfield City, so the results below are Springfield City's.
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: barium in 2 of 2 samples, highest 19.9 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 | 2 of 2 | 19.9 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 Springfield City.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 3 of 963 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Clark County Northridge tested positive (0.31%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 122 did. E. coli was never found in the 7 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 Clark County Northridge adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists no fluoridation step at Springfield City, which treats the water Clark County Northridge buys.
Clark County Northridge itself also registers a fluoridation step.
Measured fluoride: none was detected in 2 samples leaving the plants of Springfield City, which supplies Clark County Northridge, 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 Clark County Northridge, 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 Clark County Northridge 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 7,519 residents are inside the boundary, 85% of the 8,874 people Clark County Northridge 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 — 2 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 OH1201003 (EPA ECHO).
