Water system
Fayette County - culpepper Subdivision
EPA ID OH2400112 · Fayette County · 450 people served · owned by a local government
Fayette County - culpepper Subdivision buys its water from Washington Court House.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Paint Creek, Washington C.H. Reservoir
- Raw intakes
- Washington Ch Reservoir
Washington Ch Paint Creek - Active wells
- 6
- Serves
- 14,100 people · Fayette County
- EPA ID
- OH2400714
About two-thirds of supply is surface water impounded from Paint Creek into the city's reservoirs; the remaining third comes from a 6-well groundwater field.
About this area's water Washington Court House
Did you know
- Washington Court House blends its water: roughly two-thirds is Paint Creek water impounded in city reservoirs and one-third comes from six wells, four sitting right behind the water plant on the north end and two on a…
- The whole city runs on one surface water plant rated at just 3 million gallons a day, staffed in 2023 by two Class III, one Class II and three Class I operators.
- It is the cheapest water in the region and the city says that is the problem: $33.02 a month for 5,000 gallons in early 2026, against $51.14 in Greenfield, $52.99 in Circleville and $59.31 in Hillsboro, with finance…
- The wastewater plant traded chlorine gas for ultraviolet light during its rebuild, a change the project manager framed as safer for the surrounding community, and the treated effluent goes back into Paint Creek upstream…
History5
- 2021Wastewater treatment plant reconstruction at the midpoint of a three-year rebuild: rated capacity going from about 12 MGD to 15.9 MGD dry weather and 22.9 MGD wet weather, chlorine gas disinfection…
- 2022Contractor Dugan & Meyers reported the WWTP job as renovating 19 existing structures and building 5 new ones, including a 38-foot-deep influent pump station built with secant walls, a secondary…
- 2023City operated one surface water treatment plant of 3 MGD design capacity under an unconditional Ohio EPA license; crews flushed 862 hydrants, repaired 12 main breaks and added 33 new services.
- 2026February: finance director told council that water rates, the lowest in the region at $33.02 for 5,000 gallons, do not cover the cost of service; council moved ahead with a rate study.
- 2026August: city manager Joe Denen described a new water treatment plant as the most important infrastructure investment the community will undertake; the project is in planning, engineering and funding.…
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
One surface water treatment plant with a 3 million gallon per day design capacity. About two-thirds of supply is surface water drawn from Paint Creek and impounded in the city's reservoirs; the remaining third comes from six wells, four behind the water plant at the north end of town and two on a…
Source: cityofwch.com
Water pressure
Not published. The city's water quality reports carry no distribution pressure figure, and no engineering report giving one was found.
What it costs
Typical household bill about $33 a month for water.
The city does not publish a water rate schedule online (the utility page covers billing and payment only). In February 2026 the finance director told council a residential…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Chlorine Range 0.77-1.05; disinfectant residual, compliant. | 0.93 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2023 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 20.1-51.8; disinfection byproduct, compliant but the highest single result was 51.8. | 37.77 ppb | 80 | 2023 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Compliant. The CCR prints a range of 0.0-10.8 alongside a level found of 12.43, which is internally inconsistent in the… | 12.43 ppb | 60 | 2023 |
| Turbidity Highest single reading; 100% of monthly samples met the limit and the yearly average was 0.10. | 0.24 NTU | TT (0.3 NTU in… | 2023 |
| Nitrate (as N) Range 0-0.47. The city deliberately pumps only low-nitrate source water into the reservoirs to hold levels down in a… | 0.47 ppm | 10 | 2023 |
| Fluoride Compliant. | 0.418 ppm | 4 | 2023 |
| Atrazine Herbicide runoff; well below the MCL. | 0.18 ppb | 3 | 2023 |
| Alpha emitters Erosion of natural deposits; monitored less than annually. | 3.66 pCi/L | 15 | 2020 |
| Lead 90th percentile; 0 of 30 samples over the action level. | 0 ppb | 15 (Action… | 2022 |
| Copper 90th percentile; 0 of 30 samples over the action level. | 0.059 ppm | 1.3 (Action… | 2022 |
Source: cityofwch.com
EPA compliance record · Fayette County - culpepper Subdivision
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
6 violations of any kind logged since 2020, 6 of them paperwork (monitoring, reporting, public notice or consumer report).
EPA compliance record · Washington Court House (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
1 violation of any kind logged since 2020, 1 of them paperwork (monitoring, reporting, public notice or consumer report).
Projects & plans5
Recent and current work
- Wastewater treatment plant reconstruction · 2021
Rebuild raising capacity from about 12 MGD to 15.9 MGD dry weather and 22.9 MGD wet weather, switching chlorine gas disinfection to UV, adding enhanced… - Dayton Avenue culvert replacement · 2026 · completed
Drainage project funded by an Ohio Public Works Commission grant with help from the Fayette County Engineer's Office.
Source: recordherald.comdugan-meyers.comrecordherald.com
Planned or needed
- New water treatment plant · 2026 · planned
In preliminary planning, engineering and funding as of August 2026; the city manager called it the most important infrastructure investment the community will… - Eyman Park dam removal on Paint Creek · 2026 · planned
Grant-funded removal of an aging dam and accumulated debris, intended to improve stream function and water quality on Paint Creek. - Water rate increase · 2026 · proposed
Council has a rate study underway; the city manager said any increase would be gradual rather than a large one-time jump. Sewer and tap fees for new…
Source: recordherald.comrecordherald.com
Supply stress
The 2023 CCR rates the supply as having a high susceptibility to contamination. Paint Creek and the well field sit in heavily farmed country with a moderate number of potential contaminant sources, including mega-dairy operations, and agricultural runoff is named as the primary threat. The city manages that by pumping only low-nitrate…
Source: cityofwch.com
Sewers
Sanitary
City-owned wastewater treatment plant discharging to Paint Creek. A multi-year reconstruction, at midpoint in March 2021, raised rated capacity from about 12 MGD to 15.9 MGD in dry weather and 22.9 MGD in wet weather, replaced chlorine gas disinfection with UV, added enhanced phosphorus removal for aquatic life, and installed generators…
Storm
No separate stormwater utility fee was found in any published source. The city does fund drainage work case by case: a Dayton Avenue culvert replacement was completed in 2026 with an Ohio Public Works Commission grant, and removal of the Eyman Park dam on…
Source: recordherald.comdugan-meyers.comsciotovalleyguardian.com
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Present in 1 ZIP code
Serves
No ZIP code has Fayette County - culpepper Subdivision on record as its main water supplier.
Also present in 1 more ZIP code
- 43160 · Washington Court House0% 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
Fayette County - culpepper Subdivision buys its water from Washington Court House.
No other system is on record buying water from Fayette County - culpepper Subdivision.
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