Water system
Fairborn Public Water System
EPA ID OH2900612 · Greene County · 34,620 people served
Fairborn Public Water System treats its own water from Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer (Mad River Well Field, wells).
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Mad River Buried Valley Aquifer
- Active wells
- 6
- Serves
- 34,620 people · Greene County
- EPA ID
- OH2900612
About this area's water
Did you know
- The Mad River Well Field is only 42 acres, but its wells each produce anywhere from 800 to 2,600 gallons per minute.
- Raw water travels about 9,000 feet from the well field to the treatment plant through a single 24-inch main.
- Fairborn's lead service line inventory found no lead lines, no galvanized lines requiring replacement, and no unknown-material service lines anywhere in the system.
- The plant produces more than a billion gallons of drinking water a year and holds an unconditioned Ohio EPA operating license.
History5
- 1950The villages of Fairfield and Osborn merged to form the City of Fairborn, whose name blends the two.
- 1974-1975The Mad River Well Field was constructed in 1974 and the City of Fairborn Water Treatment Plant began operating in 1975.
- 1990Four new filters were added to the plant, raising rated capacity to 5.0 MGD; the well field was expanded again in 1994.
- 2008Ohio EPA approved a capacity increase to 6.5 MGD and the Mad River Well Field was expanded.
- 2021The most recent Mad River Well Field expansion was completed.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Wells at the Mad River Well Field over the Great Miami buried valley aquifer; water is oxidized with potassium permanganate and/or chlorine, filtered to remove iron and manganese, then chlorinated and fluoridated before storage in two 1.5-million-gallon clear wells.
Water pressure
Not published; Fairborn's Water & Sewer Division states only that it aims to deliver drinking water 'at adequate pressures.' No psi or pressure-zone figures found.
What it costs
Fairborn's utility billing, utilities-documents and finance pages carry no rate schedule and refer callers to (937) 754-3006.
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Disinfection byproduct; range 21.2-28.0 ppb, no violation | 28.0 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Disinfection byproduct; range BDL-6.6 ppb, no violation | 6.6 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 30 home samples exceeded the action level; range BDL-6.9 ppb | 2.7 ppb | AL=15 | 2023 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 30 home samples exceeded the action level; range 0.035-0.25 ppm | 0.16 ppm | AL=1.3 | 2023 |
| Nitrate Well below the MCL | 0.29 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Fluoride Water additive plus erosion of natural deposits; range 0.87-1.09 ppm | 0.99 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Barium Well below the MCL | 0.17 ppm | 2 | 2023 |
| Radium-228 Disclosed in the 2025 CCR as a result that should have been reported in the 2024 CCR | 1.67 pCi/L | 5 (combined… | 2024 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 2.7 ppb in 2023 (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 & plans4
Recent and current work
- Water treatment plant capacity expansion to 6.5 MGD · 2008 · completed
Ohio EPA approved raising rated plant capacity from 5.0 to 6.5 MGD; the well field was expanded at the same time - Mad River Well Field expansion · 2021 · completed
Most recent expansion of the 42-acre well field, per the city's water treatment plant page - Lead service line inventory (OEPA-SL-Inventory-OH2900612) · completed
Found no lead, no galvanized lines requiring replacement, and no unknown-material service lines in the system
Planned or needed
- 2026 Sanitary Sewer Lining Project · 2026 · planned
Posted on the city's Water & Sewer documents page.
Supply stress
Ohio EPA's 2024 source water assessment rates the aquifer highly susceptible: no protective clay layer, less than 20 feet deep, and significant potential contaminant sources in the protection area. It found no evidence the groundwater has been impacted by significant chemical contamination from human activity.
Sewers
Sanitary
City-run Water Reclamation Center at 6920 Upper Valley Road, Huber Heights: rated up to 6 MGD, currently averaging about 4 MGD, discharging to the Mad River. Wastewater flows by gravity to collection-system low points where six pump stations lift it. SCADA-monitored 24/7.
Storm
The Water & Sewer Division maintains a separate storm water collection system (pipe and inlet maintenance); we found no published stormwater utility fee schedule or flooding history.
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Main supplier in 2 ZIP codes
Serves
Main water supplier in 2 ZIP codes
- 45435 · Fairborn and Dayton100% of residents
- 45324 · Fairborn85% 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
Fairborn Public Water System does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
1 system on record buys water from Fairborn Public Water System: Greene County - Fairborn.
What the records show about Fairborn Public Water System
Who runs it
EPA's record says Fairborn Public Water System has 14,028 service connections and serves 34,620 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 2022. Its office telephone on EPA's record is 937-754-3097.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Fairborn Public Water System: aeration, chlorine disinfection, fluoridation, 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 Fairborn Public Water System 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 2023, the 90th-percentile lead result at Fairborn Public Water System was 2.7 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 3.2 ppb, in the period ending December 2020.
EPA has 3 sampling periods on file for Fairborn Public Water System 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 Fairborn Public Water System sent EPA, 14,028 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 0 |
| Not lead | 14,028 |
| All lines | 14,028 |
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 3 samples of the water entering the pipes of Fairborn Public Water System in 2023 and measured 29 PFAS. No PFAS was 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 Fairborn Public Water System (latest sample April 2021). Not one of the six PFAS tested (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS) was detected.
Ohio EPA's current sampling status map lists 2 plants of Fairborn Public Water System as sampled, most recently May 2026.
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 Fairborn Public Water System's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 23.6 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 27.6 µg/L and the highest single sample was 35 µg/L, from 40 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 3.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 10.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 12 µg/L, from 40 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 23.6 µg/L (2019) | 27.6 µg/L | 35 µg/L | 40 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 3.5 µg/L | 10.3 µg/L | 12 µg/L | 40 |
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 16 samples was 1.49 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2012; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.05 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 4 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 16 | 1.49 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 4 | 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 4 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | 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: barium in 4 of 4 samples, highest 210 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 6 samples, alachlor in 6 samples, chromium in 4 samples, cadmium in 4 samples, mercury in 4 samples, selenium in 4 samples, thallium in 4 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 4 | 4 of 4 | 210 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | 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, 5 of 3,136 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Fairborn Public Water System tested positive (0.16%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 360 did. E. coli was never found in the 6 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 Fairborn Public Water System adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Fairborn Public Water System.
Measured fluoride: 0.58 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2017 (below the 0.7 mg/L target); samples ran from 0.23 to 0.95 mg/L across 4 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 2 UCMR 5 samples at Fairborn Public Water System, last sampled in 2023 (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.
How well the service area is mapped
The service area drawn on the map for Fairborn Public Water System comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 34,546 residents are inside the boundary, 100% of the 34,620 people Fairborn Public Water System 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 — 2 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 OH2900612 (EPA ECHO).
Fairborn Public Water System's own pages: fairbornoh.gov, cms2.revize.com
