Water system
Lakewood City
EPA ID OH1801003 · Cuyahoga County · 50,942 people served · owned by a local government
Lakewood City buys its water from Cleveland Public Water System.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie
- Raw intakes
- Cleveland Baldwin
Cleveland Crown
Cleveland Morgan
Cleveland Nottingham - Serves
- 1,308,955 people · Cuyahoga County
- EPA ID
- OH1801212
About this area's water
Did you know
- Lakewood has never built a water treatment plant. It buys finished water from Cleveland and, by its own description, does not add a single chemical or even adjust the pressure before it reaches taps.
- A 2022 federal consent decree counted at least 1,933 raw sewage discharges from Lakewood's sewers into the Rocky River and Lake Erie since January 2016, triggering an $85 million fix.
- Roughly 166 miles of Lakewood sewer main carry sewage and storm runoff in the same pipe, so a hard rain is what pushes overflows into the river.
- Cleveland's waterworks, Lakewood's sole supplier, first pulled Lake Erie water in September 1856 - and delivered all of about 38,000 gallons a day that first year.
History3
- 1856Cleveland's municipal water system, Lakewood's eventual supplier, first delivered Lake Erie water in September through a 50-inch tunnel.
- 1889Lakewood incorporated as a village; it never built a water treatment plant of its own, buying finished water from Cleveland instead.
- 2022US EPA and Ohio filed an interim partial consent decree over at least 1,933 raw sewage discharges to the Rocky River and Lake Erie since January 2016.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Lakewood treats no water of its own. It buys 100% finished drinking water wholesale from the City of Cleveland Division of Water, which draws from four intakes far offshore in Lake Erie's Central Basin and treats with potassium permanganate, alum, powdered activated carbon, filtration and chlorine.…
Water pressure
not published; Lakewood states it does not adjust pressure on the water it receives from Cleveland
What it costs
$12.91 per 1,000 gallons
Effective Jan. 1, 2026: $9.66 per ccf for water ($12.91 per 1,000 gal) and $11.04 per ccf for sewer, plus a $5 impervious surface fee per 2,800 sq ft equivalent residential unit.…
Water quality & impurities7
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 11.63-24.75; well under the limit | 24.75 ppb | MCL 80 | 2024 |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) Range 6.63-12.77 | 12.77 ppb | MCL 60 | 2024 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 32 Lakewood samples exceeded the action level | 1.66 ppb | AL 15 | 2024 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 32 Lakewood samples exceeded the action level | 0.053 ppm | AL 1.3 | 2024 |
| Total chlorine Range 0.94-1.34 in Lakewood's distribution system | 1.16 ppm | MRDL 4 | 2024 |
| Turbidity Cleveland system's highest 2024 result; limit met in 100% of samples | 0.09 NTU | TT: 1.0 NTU max | 2024 |
| Cyanide One Cleveland plant only; utility calls it a likely anomaly, no other facility detected it | 40 ppb | MCL 200 | 2024 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 1.7 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
9 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 3 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 6 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
EPA compliance record · Cleveland Public Water System (treats the water)
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 required testing that was missed or reported late.
Projects & plans2
Recent and current work
- Consent decree sewer improvements (Integrated Wet Weather Improvement Plan) · $85 million · 2022- · under construction
High-rate CSO treatment, two large wet-weather storage basins, pipe lining and repair, plus a $100,000 penalty split evenly between the US and Ohio.
Planned or needed
- Remaining CSO and SSO control work under the interim consent decree · planned
The 2022 decree is a partial settlement; the city expects the wet-weather program to take decades, working from the largest overflow points down.
Supply stress
The supply itself is not constrained - Lake Erie via Cleveland, whose offshore intakes Ohio EPA rates as low susceptibility. The pressure is on the sewer side: an aging, largely combined collection system that discharged raw sewage into the Rocky River and Lake Erie on nearly 2,000 occasions since 2016 and is now under federal decree.…
Sewers
Sanitary
Lakewood operates its own collection system and its own Wastewater Treatment Plant at 1699 Valley Parkway (a Public Works division), discharging toward Lake Erie and the Rocky River - it is not treated by the regional district. Under a 2022 federal and state interim partial consent decree after at least 1,933 alleged raw sewage…
Storm
About 166 miles of largely combined storm and sanitary sewer main, which is what drives the CSO consent decree work. The city funds stormwater management through an impervious surface fee, $5 per 2,800 sq ft equivalent residential unit as of 2026.
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
- 44107 · Lakewood98% 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
Lakewood City buys its water from Cleveland Public Water System.
No other system is on record buying water from Lakewood City.
What the records show about Lakewood City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Lakewood City as owned by a local government. It has 14,153 service connections and serves 50,942 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 216-529-6803.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Lakewood City buys water that Cleveland Public Water System treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Cleveland Public Water System: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, powdered 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's record shows no health-based violations for Lakewood City since 2015.
EPA logs 9 violations of any kind since 2020: 3 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 6 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Lakewood City was 1.7 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 4 ppb, in the period ending December 2021.
EPA has 8 sampling periods on file for Lakewood 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 Lakewood City sent EPA, 14,138 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 3,645 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 392 |
| Unknown material | 149 |
| Not lead | 9,952 |
| All lines | 14,138 |
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 7 samples of the water entering the pipes of Lakewood City in 2024 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 4 plants of Cleveland Public Water System (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 4 plants of Cleveland Public Water System as sampled, most recently June 2025.
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 Lakewood City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 27.3 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 27.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 72.1 µg/L, from 256 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 13.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 20 µg/L and the highest single sample was 82.6 µg/L, from 258 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 27.3 µg/L (2019) | 27.3 µg/L | 72.1 µg/L | 256 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 13.5 µg/L | 20 µg/L | 82.6 µg/L | 258 |
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 Lakewood City buys is treated by Cleveland Public Water System, so the results below are Cleveland Public Water System's.
Nitrate: the highest of 384 samples was 1.34 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.04 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 32 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 384 | 1.34 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 32 | 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.
EPA's file lumps the entry-point samples of all 4 plants of Cleveland Public Water System together, so a result over a limit may come from a plant that serves a different part of town.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water of Cleveland Public Water System.
Solvents and fuels
The water Lakewood City buys is treated by Cleveland Public Water System, so the results below are Cleveland Public Water System'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 37 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 37 | 0 of 37 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 37 | 0 of 37 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 37 | 0 of 37 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 37 | 0 of 37 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 37 | 0 of 37 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 37 | 0 of 37 | 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 Cleveland Public Water System.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Lakewood City buys is treated by Cleveland Public Water System, so the results below are Cleveland Public Water System's.
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 32 samples each.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 32 | 0 of 32 | not detected | 0 |
Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
EPA's file lumps the entry-point samples of all 4 plants of Cleveland Public Water System together, so a result over a limit may come from a plant that serves a different part of town.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water of Cleveland Public Water System.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 0 of 5,947 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Lakewood City tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 748 did.
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 Lakewood City buys its water from Cleveland Public Water System, a system that adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Cleveland Public Water System, which treats the water Lakewood City buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.93 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Cleveland Public Water System, which supplies Lakewood City, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.81 to 1.38 mg/L across 380 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 Lakewood City, last sampled in 2024 (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.
Algal toxins
The water Lakewood City buys is treated by Cleveland Public Water System, so the results below are Cleveland Public Water System's.
Ohio EPA tests for microcystin, a toxin that harmful algal blooms can release, in raw water at the intake and in treated water.
At the intake, microcystin was detected 2 times in 1,068 raw-water samples, across 1 bloom season (2018); the highest raw-water result was 0.38 µg/L on September 10, 2018. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (1,137 samples).
In all, 2,205 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 1,068 | 2 | 0.38 µg/L |
| Treated water | 1,137 | 0 | not detected |
The ten-day advisory levels for treated water are 0.3 µg/L for children under six and 1.6 µg/L for everyone else. Any detection at the intake triggers more frequent testing until two clean weeks.
Source: Ohio EPA public water system harmful algal bloom monitoring, 2016 to present (HAB data, fetched September 2026).
Water and sewer bills
Ohio EPA's 2023 rate survey puts the water bill at Lakewood City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $689 a year, about $57 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $788 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $344 | $394 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $689 | $788 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $1,102 | $1,260 |
The survey lists it as “Lakewood”. 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
The service area drawn on the map for Lakewood City comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 49,938 residents are inside the boundary, 98% of the 50,942 people Lakewood 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.
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 OH1801003 (EPA ECHO).
Lakewood City's own pages: lakewoodoh.gov, clevelandwater.com
