Water system
Vermilion City
EPA ID OH2201511 · Erie County · 10,594 people served · owned by a local government
Vermilion City treats its own water from Lake Erie (Vermilion River intake as secondary/backup).
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie, Vermilion River
- Raw intakes
- Vermilion River
Lake Erie - Serves
- 10,594 people · Erie County
- EPA ID
- OH2201511
About this area's water
Did you know
- Vermilion's plant is dual-sourced: Lake Erie normally, the Vermilion River when necessary, plus emergency interconnections with both Lorain and Erie County — four possible ways to get water into the mains, unusual for a city of 10,000.
- The inside-city sewer rate is scheduled to more than triple in three years, from $7.22 per 100 cubic feet in 2023 to $24.36 in 2026, to pay for an EPA-mandated new treatment plant.
- You can buy water by the truckload at the Vermilion Bulk Water Station for $1.00 per 100 gallons.
- Households earning under $26,000 a year can apply annually for a 50% discount on the base rate and on the first 300 cubic feet of water each month.
- Sending a 5/8-inch water meter out for accuracy testing costs $450 — refunded if the meter turns out to be reading wrong.
Source: cityofvermilionohio.govcityofvermilionohio.govcityofvermilionohio.gov
History6
- 2022The city held an unconditioned Ohio EPA license to operate. Emergency interconnections with the City of Lorain and Erie County Water were used occasionally during system repairs.
- 2022Water and sewer tap fees and capital improvement fees were raised effective June 1; council authorized water rate increases for January 2023 (3%), 2024 (2.5%) and 2025 (2.5%).
- 2023Ordinance 2023-46 set a four-year escalator on sewer rates: the inside-city volumetric charge rises from $7.22 per 100 cubic feet in 2023 to $11.033 in 2024, $16.439 in 2025 and $24.36 in 2026.
- 2023Ohio BUILDS Round 5 awarded the city $4,087,906 in July to replace sanitary sewer service laterals and install cleanouts throughout the Vermilion on the Lake neighborhood.
- 2023In a September bulletin the city told residents that an Ohio EPA requirement to build a new sewer treatment plant, plus non-compliance penalties, would mean borrowing over $70 million and roughly a 350% sewer rate increase, and asked residents to lobby state and federal representatives for grants.
- 2026Clearing for Jackson Street construction began August 24 and storm sewer construction began September 8, with Highbridge Road closed between the bridge and Parkside Reserve.
Source: cityofvermilionohio.govcityofvermilionohio.govcityofvermilionohio.gov
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
The Vermilion Water Plant draws raw water from Lake Erie and can switch to a Vermilion River intake if necessary; it also holds emergency interconnections with the City of Lorain and Erie County water systems.
Source: cityofvermilionohio.gov
What it costs
$10.37 per 1,000 gallons
Typical household bill about $44 a month for water.
The city's codified water rules (section 1046.46, as published in the Water Department Rules and Regulations) set an inside-corporate-limits base rate of $5.00 per month per unit for a 5/8"x3/4" meter plus $7.76 per 100 cubic feet consumed — about $10.37 per 1,000 gallons at 7.48 gal/cf.
Source: cityofvermilionohio.govcityofvermilionohio.govcityofvermilionohio.gov
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) No violation on the running annual average, but individual site results ranged 17.9-85.9 ppb, so single samples did exceed 80 ppb. | 58.7 ppb | 80 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 9.7-42.4 ppb. | 28.1 ppb | 60 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 31 samples exceeded the action level. | 1.68 ppb | 15 (action level) | 2023 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 31 samples exceeded the action level. | 0.202 ppm | 1.3 (action level) | 2023 |
| Nitrate Range 0.15-1.68 ppm; fertilizer runoff and natural deposits. | 1.68 ppm | 10 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Fluoride Range 0.79-1.24 mg/L; added at the plant. | 1.24 mg/L | 4 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Barium Naturally occurring; drilling wastes and metal refinery discharge. | 0.017 mg/L | 2 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Total Chlorine Range as printed 1.51-1.57 ppm. | 1.34 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2023 |
| Turbidity Highest single reading of the year; the CCR states all samples were under the Ohio EPA limit and the lowest monthly percentage meeting the limit was 100%. | 0.55 NTU | 0.30 in 95% of daily samples (treatment technique) | 2023 |
| Total Organic Carbon Range 1.14-1.94; in compliance with TOC removal requirements. | 1.15 removal ratio | treatment technique (ratio must exceed 1) | 2023 |
Source: cityofvermilionohio.gov
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
3 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 3 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
Projects & plans3
Recent and current work
- Vermilion on the Lake sanitary sewer lateral replacement and cleanout installation · $4.1 million · 2023 · planned
Ohio BUILDS Round 5 grant awarded July 2023 to replace all existing sanitary sewer service laterals to the right-of-way and install cleanouts for all residential homes in the neighborhood, to cut infiltration. Benefits 2,148 people. - Jackson Street reconstruction and storm sewer construction · 2026 · under construction
Clearing began August 24, 2026; storm sewer work began September 8, 2026, with Highbridge Road closed between the bridge and Parkside Reserve.
Source: content.govdelivery.comcityofvermilionohio.gov
Planned or needed
- Ohio EPA-mandated wastewater treatment plant replacement · $70 million · 2023 · planned
The city has told residents it must build a new sewer treatment facility under EPA requirements, with penalties for non-compliance, requiring borrowing of over $70 million and a roughly 350% sewer rate increase.
Supply stress
Vermilion is a Lake Erie shoreline plant, so raw-water quantity is not the constraint — quality and resilience are. Ohio EPA's source water assessment finds the Lake Erie source susceptible to contamination from municipal wastewater treatment discharges, industrial wastewater discharges, air contamination deposition, runoff from residential and urban areas, contaminated river sediments, and accidental releases and spills from vehicular traffic, commercial shipping and recreational boating.
Sewers
Sanitary
The city runs its own wastewater treatment plant (Utilities Department, Dan Hall). It is under an Ohio EPA requirement to build a new sewer treatment facility, which the city says means borrowing over $70 million and a roughly 350% sewer rate increase.
Storm
The city builds and maintains storm sewers as part of street projects — storm sewer construction on Jackson Street began September 8, 2026 — but no separate stormwater utility, fee, or system description is published.
Source: cityofvermilionohio.govcontent.govdelivery.comcityofvermilionohio.gov
Serves
Main water supplier in 1 ZIP code
- 44089 · Vermilion68% 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
Vermilion City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
1 system on record buys water from Vermilion City: Erie Co. Vermilion W District.
What the records show about Vermilion City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Vermilion City as owned by a local government. It has 5,700 service connections and serves 10,594 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 2023. Its office telephone on EPA's record is 440-204-2424.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Vermilion City: 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 Vermilion City since 2015.
EPA logs 3 violations of any kind since 2020: 3 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 November 2026).
Lead and copper at the tap
For the sampling period ending December 2025, EPA's record lists the 90th-percentile lead result at Vermilion City as 0 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027. EPA records a result below the lab's reporting level as 0, so this is the result reported, not proof that no home sampled had lead. The system's own water quality report gives a 90th-percentile result of 1.68 ppb for 2023.
The highest result on file is 3.4 ppb, in the period ending December 2018.
EPA has 8 sampling periods on file for Vermilion 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 Vermilion City sent EPA, 5,141 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 1 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 194 |
| Unknown material | 375 |
| Not lead | 4,571 |
| All lines | 5,141 |
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 6 samples of the water entering the pipes of Vermilion City in 2023 to 2024 and measured 29 PFAS. EPA's UCMR 5 file shows no PFAS detected, PFOA and PFOS (federal limit 4 ng/L each) among them.
The system reported potential PFAS sources near its supply.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Vermilion City (latest sample September 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 Vermilion City as sampled, most recently September 2024; it flags PFAS detected at the plant.
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 Vermilion City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 53.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 68.4 µg/L and the highest single sample was 103.1 µg/L, from 116 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 24.3 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 35 µg/L and the highest single sample was 70.8 µg/L, from 116 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 53.9 µg/L (2019) | 68.4 µg/L | 103.1 µg/L | 116 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 24.3 µg/L | 35 µg/L | 70.8 µg/L | 116 |
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 95 samples was 1.44 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2014; 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 8 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 95 | 1.44 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 8 | 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. Benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and vinyl chloride were not detected in 7 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 7 | 0 of 7 | 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 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: atrazine in 6 of 24 samples, highest 0.4 µg/L (limit 3); barium in 8 of 8 samples, highest 23 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: alachlor in 24 samples, chromium in 8 samples, cadmium in 8 samples, mercury in 8 samples, selenium in 8 samples, thallium in 8 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 24 | 6 of 24 | 0.4 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 24 | 0 of 24 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 8 | 8 of 8 | 23 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | 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, 0 of 1,223 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Vermilion City tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 141 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 Vermilion City adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Vermilion City.
Measured fluoride: 1 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (above the 0.7 mg/L level now recommended and well under the 4 mg/L limit); samples ran from 0.8 to 1.3 mg/L across 8 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 Vermilion 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
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 12 times in 238 raw-water samples, across 2 bloom seasons (2016 to 2018); the highest raw-water result was 1.04 µg/L on August 29, 2016. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (97 samples).
In all, 335 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 238 | 12 | 1.04 µg/L |
| Treated water | 97 | 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).
How well the service area is mapped
EPA estimated the service area of Vermilion City with a computer model rather than drawing it from the utility's map, so its edges are approximate.
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 OH2201511 (EPA ECHO).
Vermilion City's own pages: eriecounty.oh.gov
Notable facts: cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov
History: cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov
Water quality: cityofvermilionohio.gov
Planned work: content.govdelivery.com, cityofvermilionohio.gov
Capital projects: content.govdelivery.com, cityofvermilionohio.gov
Rates: cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov
Sewers: cityofvermilionohio.gov, content.govdelivery.com, cityofvermilionohio.gov, cityofvermilionohio.gov
Treatment: cityofvermilionohio.gov
Supply stress: cityofvermilionohio.gov, content.govdelivery.com