Water system
Washington Court House
EPA ID OH2400714 · Fayette County · 14,100 people served
Washington Court House treats its own water from Paint Creek (Washington C.H. Reservoirs) + wells.
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 this area's water
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
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 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
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.
Main supplier in 1 ZIP code
Serves
Main water supplier in 1 ZIP code
- 43160 · Washington Court House64% 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
Washington Court House does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
2 systems on record buy water from Washington Court House: Fayette Co-lakewood Hills Subdivision, Fayette County - culpepper Subdivision.
What the records show about Washington Court House
Who runs it
EPA's record says Washington Court House has 6,975 service connections and serves 14,100 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 740-636-2382.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Washington Court House: aeration, corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, lime softening, 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 Washington Court House 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Washington Court House 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 4 sampling periods on file for Washington Court House since 2016, the first ending in 2016; 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 Washington Court House sent EPA, 7,562 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 95 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 28 |
| Unknown material | 4,678 |
| Not lead | 2,761 |
| All lines | 7,562 |
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 4 samples of the water entering the pipes of Washington Court House 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 Washington Court House (latest sample July 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 Washington Court House as sampled, most recently July 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 Washington Court House's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 33.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 34.4 µg/L and the highest single sample was 49.9 µg/L, from 83 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 9.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 9.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 17 µg/L, from 84 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 33.9 µg/L (2019) | 34.4 µg/L | 49.9 µg/L | 83 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 9.5 µg/L | 9.9 µg/L | 17 µg/L | 84 |
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 152 samples was 7.9 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2017; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.99 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) | 152 | 7.9 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 8 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | 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 4 of 8 samples, highest 0.12 µg/L (limit 3); barium in 5 of 8 samples, highest 17 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: alachlor, chromium, cadmium, mercury, selenium, and thallium, in 8 samples each.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 8 | 4 of 8 | 0.12 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | 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 | 5 of 8 | 17 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, 3 of 1,886 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Washington Court House tested positive (0.16%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 224 did. E. coli was never found in the 3 samples 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 Washington Court House has fluoride from natural sources, but at a level below what is recommended for preventing tooth decay, and does not adjust it. The level it reports is 0.42 mg/L.
EPA's treatment table lists no fluoridation step at Washington Court House.
Measured fluoride: 0.36 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (below the 0.7 mg/L target); samples ran from 0.19 to 0.38 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 Washington Court House, 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.
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 1 time in 228 raw-water samples, across 1 bloom season (2018); the highest raw-water result was 0.581 µg/L on January 22, 2018. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (78 samples).
In all, 306 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 228 | 1 | 0.581 µg/L |
| Treated water | 78 | 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
The service area drawn on the map for Washington Court House comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 14,101 residents are inside the boundary, 100% of the 14,100 people Washington Court House 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
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 OH2400714 (EPA ECHO).
Washington Court House's own pages: recordherald.com, cityofwch.com
Notable facts: cityofwch.com, recordherald.com, recordherald.com
History: recordherald.com, dugan-meyers.com, cityofwch.com, recordherald.com
Water quality: cityofwch.com
Planned work: recordherald.com, recordherald.com
Capital projects: recordherald.com, dugan-meyers.com, recordherald.com
Rates: recordherald.com, recordherald.com, cityofwch.com
Sewers: recordherald.com, dugan-meyers.com, sciotovalleyguardian.com, recordherald.com
Treatment: cityofwch.com
Supply stress: cityofwch.com
