Water system
Reynoldsburg City
EPA ID OH2503203 · Franklin County · 37,847 people served · owned by a local government
Reynoldsburg City buys its water from Columbus Public Water System.
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Scioto River Valley sand and gravel (buried valley) aquifer
- Water bodies
- Scioto River, Griggs Reservoir, O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, Hoover Reservoir, Big Walnut Creek, Alum Creek
- Raw intakes
- Dublin Rd Scioto River
Hap Cremean Big Walnut
Alum Creek Hoover, Hap Cremean
Doutt Reservoir Scioto - Active wells
- 6
- Serves
- 1,305,946 people · Franklin County
- EPA ID
- OH2504412
About this area's water
Did you know
- Reynoldsburg is the 'Birthplace of the Tomato' - Alexander W. Livingston bred the Paragon there, billed as the first tomato bred for commercial use.
- The city owns no wells, no intake and no treatment plant: every drop arrives finished from Columbus through six master meters - 1.273 billion gallons in 2025.
- Which Columbus plant serves you depends on your street: E. Main and E. Broad get Hoover Reservoir surface water, State Route 256 gets Parsons Avenue groundwater.
- Reynoldsburg maintains 145.1 miles of water line and 143.8 miles of sanitary sewer but treats none of the water or sewage moving through them.
History5
- 1908Griggs Dam dedicated on the Scioto River, the first of the Columbus reservoirs that would eventually supply suburbs like Reynoldsburg.
- 1955Hoover Dam on Big Walnut Creek dedicated; Hoover Reservoir now feeds the Hap Cremean plant that supplies most of Reynoldsburg.
- 1960sColumbus built four Ranney collector wells in southern Franklin County, part of the groundwater supply behind the Parsons Avenue plant.
- 2024Sewer rates rose 6% on Jan. 1 and the capital improvement fee rose 50% in August, funding a five-year sewer rehabilitation program.
- 2025Ordinance 61-2025, passed Dec. 15, set the water rate at $12.55 per 1,000 gallons effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Buys 100% finished water from Columbus through six master meters. Water entering on E. Main and E. Broad comes from the Hap Cremean plant (Hoover Reservoir surface water); water on SR 256 from the Parsons Avenue plant (groundwater). Reynoldsburg monitors chlorine daily.
Water pressure
Not published. Reynoldsburg buys finished water through six master meters and operates only distribution, so pressure is set by Columbus's supply at those meters.
What it costs
$12.55 per 1,000 gallons
Ordinance 61-2025: $12.55 per 1,000 gallons effective Jan. 1, 2026, 10% senior discount on the first 10,000 gal. Sewer $12.20; stormwater $20.25 per quarter.
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reynoldsburg distribution system; range 29.4-78.5 ppb - closest result to an MCL. | 67 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) Reynoldsburg distribution system; range 8.4-43.8 ppb. | 34 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Lead 90th percentile; 1 of 324 sites over the AL, one sample at 21.9 ppb. | 2.060 ppb | 15 (action… | 2023 |
| Copper 90th percentile; 0 of 32 sites above the action level. | 0.0323 ppm | 1.3 (action… | 2023 |
| Nitrate Hap Cremean plant, range ND-1.4; not detected at Parsons Avenue. | 1.4 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Chlorine Reynoldsburg distribution residual; range 0.69-1.22 ppm. | 1.02 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Fluoride Hap Cremean plant; 0.98 ppm at Parsons Avenue. Added for dental health. | 0.97 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Turbidity Highest single result at Hap Cremean; 97% of monthly samples met the limit. | 0.68 NTU | 0.3 (treatment… | 2025 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 2.1 ppb in 2023 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
EPA compliance record · Columbus Public Water System (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 1.2 ppb in 2023 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2016Nitrate · above the legal limit on average · measured 10.5 MG/L (limit 10 MG/L) · returned to compliance
Projects & plans2
Recent and current work
- Five-year sanitary sewer rehabilitation program · $4.2 million · 2025-2029 · under construction
Area sewer rehab across 14 neighborhoods plus manhole rehab and annual inspection/cleaning; $2.5M from cash on hand, $1.72M rate-funded.
Planned or needed
- Sewer rate adjustment to fund the capital program · 2025 · proposed
Baker Tilly modeled 12% or 26% increases, lifting the average monthly residential sewer bill from $45.48 to $50.94 or $57.30.
Supply stress
Risk is inherited from Columbus: the CCR rates the Scioto River, Big Walnut Creek and the Parsons Avenue aquifer as highly susceptible to spills, the aquifer because no significant clay layer protects it. Columbus says it will add PFAS treatment if 2027 monitoring shows it cannot meet the 2029 limits.
Sewers
Sanitary
No treatment plant of its own: Reynoldsburg collects sewage in 143.8 miles of city sanitary sewer and pays Columbus to treat it, about $6.0 million budgeted for the 2025 treatment contract. Columbus's combined sewers and 19 CSO outfalls are in its older core, not in Reynoldsburg.
Storm
Separate storm system billed as its own utility at $20.25 per quarter for residential customers in 2026. We found no reports of major flooding problems.
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
- 43068 · Reynoldsburg68% of residents
Also present in 3 more ZIP codes
- 43004 · Columbus and Blacklick1% of residents
- 43213 · Whitehall and Columbus0% of residents
- 43232 · Columbus0% 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
Reynoldsburg City buys its water from Columbus Public Water System.
No other system is on record buying water from Reynoldsburg City.
What the records show about Reynoldsburg City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Reynoldsburg City as owned by a local government. It has 11,895 service connections and serves 37,847 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 614-322-4503.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Reynoldsburg City buys water that Columbus Public Water System treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Columbus Public Water System: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, ion-exchange softening, lime softening, ozone, powdered activated carbon, sand or media filtration, and ultraviolet disinfection.
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 Reynoldsburg City since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Reynoldsburg City since 2020.
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 2023, the 90th-percentile lead result at Reynoldsburg City was 2.1 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
EPA has 3 sampling periods on file for Reynoldsburg City since 2016, the first ending in 2017; 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 Reynoldsburg City sent EPA, 12,185 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 3,557 |
| Not lead | 8,628 |
| All lines | 12,185 |
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 Reynoldsburg City in 2024 and measured 29 PFAS.
PFOA and PFOS were not detected, against a federal limit of 4 ng/L each.
The highest PFAS result was PFBA 5.5 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 3 plants of Columbus Public Water System (latest sample October 2020). Not one of the six PFAS tested (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS) was detected.
| Compound | Highest result | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA | not detected | 4 ng/L |
| PFOS | not detected | 4 ng/L |
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 Reynoldsburg City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 38 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 52.4 µg/L and the highest single sample was 93.4 µg/L, from 128 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 23.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 39.6 µg/L and the highest single sample was 61.5 µg/L, from 128 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 38 µg/L (2019) | 52.4 µg/L | 93.4 µg/L | 128 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 23.9 µg/L | 39.6 µg/L | 61.5 µg/L | 128 |
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 Reynoldsburg City buys is treated by Columbus Public Water System, so the results below are Columbus Public Water System's.
Nitrate: the highest of 232 samples was 12.5 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2015; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 3.6 mg/L. 12 of the samples went over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 18 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 232 | 12.5 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 12 |
| Arsenic | 18 | 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 3 plants of Columbus 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 Columbus Public Water System.
Solvents and fuels
The water Reynoldsburg City buys is treated by Columbus Public Water System, so the results below are Columbus 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 18 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | 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 Columbus Public Water System.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Reynoldsburg City buys is treated by Columbus Public Water System, so the results below are Columbus Public Water System's.
EPA's file holds results for all nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: atrazine in 21 of 57 samples, highest 2.8 µg/L (limit 3); alachlor in 6 of 57 samples, highest 0.37 µg/L (limit 2); barium in 11 of 18 samples, highest 17 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: 2,4-D in 2 samples, chromium in 18 samples, cadmium in 18 samples, mercury in 18 samples, selenium in 18 samples, thallium in 18 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 57 | 21 of 57 | 2.8 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 57 | 6 of 57 | 0.37 µg/L | 0 |
| 2,4-D | Farm chemical | 70 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 18 | 11 of 18 | 17 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 18 | 0 of 18 | not detected | 0 |
Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
EPA's file lumps the entry-point samples of all 3 plants of Columbus 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 Columbus Public Water System.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 5 of 4,120 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Reynoldsburg City tested positive (0.12%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 513 did. E. coli was found in 1 of 361 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 Reynoldsburg City buys its water from Columbus 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 Columbus Public Water System, which treats the water Reynoldsburg City buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.97 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Columbus Public Water System, which supplies Reynoldsburg City, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.82 to 1.01 mg/L across 18 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 6 UCMR 5 samples at Reynoldsburg 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 Reynoldsburg City buys is treated by Columbus Public Water System, so the results below are Columbus 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 18 times in 802 raw-water samples, across 6 bloom seasons (2016 to 2026); the highest raw-water result was 0.7 µg/L on October 31, 2016. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 0.29 µg/L.
In treated water, microcystin was detected 2 times; the highest result was 0.26 µg/L (October 2025), below the 0.3 µg/L advisory level.
In all, 1,604 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 802 | 18 | 0.7 µg/L |
| Treated water | 802 | 2 | 0.26 µg/L |
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 Reynoldsburg City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $601 a year, about $50 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $637 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $301 | $319 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $601 | $637 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $962 | $1,020 |
The survey lists it as “Reynoldsburg”. 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 Reynoldsburg City comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 41,014 residents are inside the boundary, 108% of the 37,847 people Reynoldsburg 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.
Photograph
On the map
Show this system's territory on the map — 4 ZIP codes 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 OH2503203 (EPA ECHO).
Reynoldsburg City's own pages: columbus.gov
