Water system
Springfield City
EPA ID OH1204412 · Clark County · 60,680 people served · owned by a local government
Springfield City treats its own water from Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer (12 wells).
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
Springfield's Eagle City Road well field (12 wells) draws groundwater from the Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer, a watercourse aquifer recharged largely by the adjacent Mad River.
About this area's water
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
not published — no citywide psi figure in the sources reviewed. The 2021 annual report notes an eastern pressure district expansion and booster pump station work, confirming…
What it costs
Not substantiated. 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
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 of them paperwork (monitoring, reporting, public notice or consumer report).
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.
Main supplier in 5 ZIP codes
Serves
Main water supplier in 6 ZIP codes
- 45501 · Springfield100% of residents
- 45505 · Springfield85% of residents
- 45506 · Springfield80% of residents
- 45503 · Springfield74% of residents
- 45504 · Springfield60% 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
Springfield City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
4 systems on record buy water from Springfield City: Clark County Limecrest, Clark County Northridge, Clark County Rockway, Garden Acres Water Company.
Photograph
On the map
Show this system's territory on the map — 6 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
Springfield City's own pages: springfieldohio.gov, springfieldohio.gov, springfieldohio.gov