Water system

Coshocton

EPA ID OH1600012 · Coshocton County · 13,537 people served

Sand & gravel aquifer near Walhonding River/Mill Creek valley (wells)
Groundwater

Coshocton treats its own water from Sand & gravel aquifer near Walhonding River/Mill Creek valley (wells).

The system's record

Sand & gravel aquifer near Walhonding River/Mill Creek valley (wells)
Groundwater
Wells: EPA lists 8 active wells. ODNR well logs locate 5 public-supply wells inside Coshocton's wellhead protection zone, 80 to 115 ft deep, in sand & gravel and shale. Zoom in to see them as dots.
Well 8Well 9Well 1Well 2Well 3Well 5Well 6Well 7
Aquifer
Walhonding River valley sand & gravel aquifer
Active wells
8
Serves
13,537 people · Coshocton County
EPA ID
OH1600012

About this area's water

The Walhonding River at Coshocton, Ohio, 2004
The Walhonding River at Coshocton, Ohio, 2004Photo: Tim Kiser (Malepheasant at English Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Did you know
  • Coshocton bills water by the 1,000 cubic feet rather than the 1,000 gallons, and its 2022 rate ordinance locked in a raise every June from 2022 through 2029 — so a resident can look up what their 2029 bill will be today.
  • The water plant runs a 24/7 self-serve bulk station at a penny a gallon, with volume breaks down to $0.006 a gallon for anyone hauling more than 2 million gallons a month.
  • The city's stormwater fee is a quarter a month for a house and a dollar for a business.
  • The wells sit in a buried sand-and-gravel valley where Mill Creek meets the Walhonding, just upstream of the point in town where the Walhonding and Tuscarawas join to form the Muskingum.
  • A 2020 statewide PFAS survey and the 2024 UCMR 5 round both came back non-detect for Coshocton's finished water.

Source: cityofcoshocton.comcityofcoshocton.comcityofcoshocton.com

History6
  • 2008Water treatment plant expansion completed; on Ohio EPA criteria the plant is rated to deliver up to 15 million gallons per day.
  • 2008Wastewater treatment plant renovated: all three trickling filters rebuilt and a new high-strength BOD removal system installed.
  • 2020System sampled under Ohio's statewide drinking water PFAS Sampling Initiative; six PFAS compounds tested, none detected in finished water.
  • 2021Waterline expansion carried city water out to West Lafayette, the template later cited for the Warsaw extension.
  • 2022Revised Ordinance 12-22 set an eight-year schedule of annual water and sewer rate increases from the June 2022 billing through June 2029, along with trash, stormwater, tap, bulk water and…
  • 2024System participated in the fifth round of the federal Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5); all samples came back non-detect.

Source: cityofcoshocton.comcityofcoshocton.comcityofcoshocton.com

Treatment & pressure

How it is treated

Water comes from a well field just off State Route 83 N near the junction of Mill Creek and the Walhonding River, in a submersed valley geology tapping a large saturated sand-and-gravel aquifer. At the plant the water goes through lime softening, stabilization by recarbonation, filtration…

Source: cityofcoshocton.comcityofcoshocton.com

Water pressure

Not published. Neither the 2025 CCR nor the utilities department page gives a distribution pressure figure.

What it costs

$8.77 per 1,000 gallons

Typical household bill about $59 a month for water.

Coshocton bills by the 1,000 CUBIC FEET, not the 1,000 gallons; 1,000 CF = 7,480 gallons. Inside city limits for the June 2026 billing (Revised Ordinance 12-22): $29.78 minimum…

Source: cityofcoshocton.com

Water quality & impurities8
ContaminantLevelLimitYear
Total Chlorine
Highest level detected, range 1.24-1.57 over calendar year 2025; disinfectant residual, compliant.
1.399 ppm4 (MRDL)2025
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Highest level detected 9/10/2025, range 12.3-16.8; disinfection byproduct, well under the limit.
16.8 ppb802025
Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)
Below the detection limit of 6 ppb on 9/10/2025.
<6 ppb602025
Fluoride
Highest level detected, range 0.55-1.16 over calendar year 2025; compliant.
1.16 ppm4.02025
Barium
Naturally occurring; monitored less than annually.
0.033 ppm22023
Nitrate (as N)
Single sample 5/5/2025; low.
0.585 ppm102025
Copper
90th percentile from sampling 6/13/2024-9/16/2024; 0 of 30 samples over the action level.
0.038 ppm1.3 (Action…2024
Lead
90th percentile from sampling 6/13/2024-9/16/2024; 0 of 30 samples over the action level.
0 ppb15 (Action…2024

Source: cityofcoshocton.com

EPA compliance record

Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2024 (action level 15 ppb).

EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.

1 violation of any kind logged since 2020: 1 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).

Projects & plans7

Recent and current work

  • Water treatment plant expansion · 2008 · completed
    Left the plant rated to deliver up to 15 MGD on Ohio EPA criteria. We found no published cost.
  • Wastewater treatment plant trickling-filter renovation · 2008 · completed
    All three trickling filters rebuilt and a high-strength BOD removal system added. We found no published cost.
  • West Lafayette waterline expansion · 2021 · completed
    Extended city water service out to West Lafayette; cited in 2024 as the model for the Warsaw project. We found no published cost.
  • Lead service line inventory · 2025 · completed
    Citywide inventory of service line materials required under the Lead and Copper Rule, dated 5/20/2025 and linked from the city's water quality report.
  • Wastewater plant digester improvements · $11 million · 2024 · planned
    Water Pollution Control Loan Fund agreement, first reading May 2024, repaid through sewer usage charges. The two primary digesters and one secondary digester…
  • Well field equipment and power supply upgrade · $1.1 million · 2024 · planned
    Revised estimate of $1.1 million to replace well field equipment and systems dating to the 1960s, including an electrical refeed by American Electric Power…

Source: cityofcoshocton.comaol.comcityofcoshocton.com

Planned or needed

  • Coshocton-to-Warsaw waterline extension · $5 million · 2024 · planned
    About 44,000 linear feet of waterline along U.S. Route 36 from Coshocton to the Village of Warsaw, plus a new water storage tank and replacement of all service…

Source: aol.comcontent.govdelivery.com

Supply stress

Ohio EPA's drinking water source assessment classifies Coshocton as a High Susceptibility PWS based on high sensitivity: the aquifer is sensitive in nature and potential contaminant sources have been identified nearby. The city stresses this does not mean the well field will be contaminated, only that conditions allow it. There is no…

Source: cityofcoshocton.comcityofcoshocton.comaol.com

Sewers

Sanitary

City-operated wastewater treatment plant at 2742 County Road 271, a trickling-filter facility with 4.4 MGD total capacity and about 2.7 MGD still available; all three filters were rebuilt and a high-strength BOD removal system added in 2008. An $11.25 million digester improvement project financed through Ohio EPA's Water Pollution…

Storm

The city bills a stormwater charge under Revised Ordinance 12-22 of $0.25 per month per residential unit and $1.00 per commercial unit — among the smallest published stormwater fees in Ohio and, unlike water and sewer, not on an escalation schedule. Whether…

Source: cityofcoshocton.comcityofcoshocton.comaol.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

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

Coshocton does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.

No other system is on record buying water from Coshocton.

What the records show about Coshocton

Who runs it

EPA's record says Coshocton has 6,340 service connections and serves 13,537 people.

EPA classes it as a community water system, one that serves the same residents all year.

Its office telephone on EPA's record is 740-622-2626.

Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.

How the water is treated

EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Coshocton: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, 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 Coshocton since 2015.

EPA logs 1 violation of any kind since 2020: 1 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).

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 2024, the 90th-percentile lead result at Coshocton 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 3 sampling periods on file for Coshocton 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 Coshocton sent EPA, 6,726 lines are counted.

Service lines in the inventory
MaterialLines
Lead0
Galvanized, needing replacement1,373
Unknown material5,353
Not lead0
All lines6,726

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 Coshocton in 2024 to 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 Coshocton (latest sample September 2020). Not one of the six PFAS tested (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS) was detected.

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 Coshocton's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 15.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 21.1 µg/L and the highest single sample was 25 µg/L, from 39 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.

For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 0 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 3.8 µg/L and the highest single sample was 7.4 µg/L, from 39 samples.

Disinfection byproducts in the distribution system
ByproductLimitLatest yearly averageWorst yearly averageHighest sampleSamples
TTHM80 µg/L15.9 µg/L (2019)21.1 µg/L25 µg/L39
HAA560 µg/L0 µg/L3.8 µg/L7.4 µg/L39

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 2012; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.35 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).

Nitrate, arsenic and radioactivity in finished water, 2012 to 2019
ContaminantSamplesHighest resultLimitSamples over limit
Nitrate (as nitrogen)82.5 mg/L10 mg/L0
Arsenic2not detected10 µg/L0

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.

Solvents and fuels in finished water, 2012 to 2019
CompoundLimitSamplesDetected inHighest resultSamples over limit
Benzene5 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
Carbon tetrachloride5 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
1,2-dichloroethane5 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
Trichloroethylene (TCE)5 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)5 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
Vinyl chloride2 µg/L20 of 2not detected0

"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.

Herbicides and metals in finished water, 2012 to 2019
SubstanceKindLimitSamplesDetected inHighest resultSamples over limit
AtrazineFarm chemical3 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
AlachlorFarm chemical2 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
ChromiumMetal100 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
CadmiumMetal5 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
BariumMetal2,000 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
MercuryMetal2 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
SeleniumMetal50 µg/L20 of 2not detected0
ThalliumMetal2 µg/L20 of 2not detected0

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, 1 of 985 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Coshocton tested positive (0.1%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 120 did. E. coli was never found in the 1 sample 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 Coshocton adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.

EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Coshocton.

Measured fluoride: 0.91 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2017 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.91 to 0.93 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 Coshocton, 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.

Water and sewer bills

Ohio EPA's 2023 rate survey puts the water bill at Coshocton for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $443 a year, about $37 a month.

The sewer bill in the same survey is $453 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.

Annual bills, 2023
UseWater, per yearSewer, per year
2,500 gallons a month$266$285
5,000 gallons a month$443$453
8,000 gallons a month$679$677

The survey lists it as “Coshocton”. 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 Coshocton 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 12,022 residents are inside the boundary, 89% of the 13,537 people Coshocton 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

The Walhonding River at Coshocton, Ohio, 2004
The Walhonding River at Coshocton, Ohio, 2004Photo: Tim Kiser (Malepheasant at English Wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

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 OH1600012 (EPA ECHO).

Coshocton's own pages: cityofcoshocton.com, coshoctoncounty.net

Notable facts: cityofcoshocton.com, cityofcoshocton.com, cityofcoshocton.com, en.wikipedia.org

History: cityofcoshocton.com, cityofcoshocton.com, cityofcoshocton.com, aol.com

Water quality: cityofcoshocton.com

Planned work: aol.com, content.govdelivery.com

Capital projects: cityofcoshocton.com, aol.com, cityofcoshocton.com

Rates: cityofcoshocton.com

Sewers: cityofcoshocton.com, cityofcoshocton.com, aol.com

Treatment: cityofcoshocton.com, cityofcoshocton.com

Supply stress: cityofcoshocton.com, cityofcoshocton.com, aol.com

Quick answers

Where does Coshocton get its water?

Coshocton treats its own water from Sand & gravel aquifer near Walhonding River/Mill Creek valley (wells).

How many people does Coshocton serve?

Coshocton serves about 13,537 people, and is the main water system for 1 ZIP code.

Is there lead in Coshocton water?

In 2024 testing, Coshocton's 90th-percentile lead level in tap samples was 0 ppb (the federal action level is 15 ppb). 90th percentile from sampling 6/13/2024-9/16/2024; 0 of 30 samples over the action level.

How much fluoride is in Coshocton water?

Coshocton reported fluoride at 1.16 ppm in 2025. Highest level detected, range 0.55-1.16 over calendar year 2025; compliant.

Cite this page

Cite this page as:

Cracked Buckeye, "Coshocton · OH1600012", https://crackedbuckeye.com/water/OH1600012/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

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