Water system
Norwood City
EPA ID OH3101703 · Hamilton County · 19,870 people served · owned by a local government
Norwood City buys its water from Cincinnati Public Water System.
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer
- Water bodies
- Ohio River
- Raw intakes
- Cincinnati Miller Ohio River
Cincinnati Miller Ohio River S - Active wells
- 13
- Serves
- 750,200 people · Hamilton County
- EPA ID
- OH3102612
About this area's water
Did you know
- Norwood ran on its own artesian wells for 65 years, and in the 1937 flood the roles reversed: with the Cincinnati Water Works shut down, nearly the whole city came to Norwood to fill buckets and tubs from its wells.
- Only after its own water table dropped in 1959 did Norwood switch to buying wholesale from Cincinnati, a relationship now in its seventh decade.
- The Cincinnati system Norwood depends on was the first municipally owned water works in Ohio, bought by the city on June 25, 1839 for $300,000.
- GCWW's Miller plant was the first utility in the nation to run granular activated carbon and reactivate the carbon on site, in two 1,500-degree furnaces; because GAC strips out organics, the plant needs about two-thirds…
- GCWW tests the water an average of 300 times a day, and Norwood's own health department adds a chlorine-residual test 365 days a year on top of that.
Source: norwoodohiohistoricalsociety.orgcincinnati-oh.govwvxu.org
History6
- 1892-1894Norwood voters approved a public water works in 1892; the system was completed in 1894 with six artesian wells, a pumping station at Harris Avenue and Pine Street, and a 100-foot steel water tower…
- 1937When the Ohio River flood knocked out the Cincinnati Water Works, nearly the whole city turned to Norwood's artesian wells to fill buckets and tubs.
- 1959The water table under Norwood's artesian wells dropped to a level too expensive to keep pumping, and the city began buying finished water wholesale from Cincinnati, which it still does.
- 1817-1839Norwood's present supplier traces to an 1817 charter granting the Cincinnati Manufacturing Company exclusive rights to a public water supply; first delivery was July 3, 1821, and on June 25, 1839 the…
- 1906-1907GCWW's 'New Works' Ohio River treatment plant (later the Richard Miller Treatment Plant) became operational.
- 1992GCWW's granular activated carbon facility at the Miller plant went into service, the first in the nation to use GAC and reactivate it on site.
Source: norwoodohiohistoricalsociety.orgcincinnati-oh.govwvxu.org
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Norwood treats no water of its own. It buys all of its finished water wholesale from Greater Cincinnati Water Works and holds an unconditional Ohio EPA license to operate its distribution system, doing its own metering, billing and main repairs. Norwood's supply comes from GCWW's Richard Miller…
Source: norwoodohio.govcincinnati-oh.gov
Water pressure
Not published. Neither Norwood nor GCWW publishes a distribution pressure figure for the Norwood service area.
What it costs
Norwood sets its own retail water rates by city ordinance and does not publish a rate schedule online; residential bills are quarterly and combine water, sewer and garbage on one…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead (90th percentile, Norwood… Range <1 to 7.81 ppb; 0 of 30 Norwood samples exceeded the action level. GCWW system-wide, 0 of 113 samples (Jan-Jun)… | 1.72 ppb | 15 ppb action… | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile, Norwood… 0 of 30 Norwood samples exceeded the action level. | 0.218 ppm | 1.3 ppm action… | 2025 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Norwood distribution result, range 6.3-59.4 ppb; Miller plant water was 49.6 ppb with a range of 15.7-76.0 ppb. No… | 59.4 ppb | 80 ppb MCL | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Norwood distribution result, range nd-14.1 ppb. No violation. | 14.1 ppb | 60 ppb MCL | 2025 |
| Total chlorine Norwood distribution result, range 0.38-1.37 ppm. | 1.37 ppm | MRDL 4 ppm | 2025 |
| Fluoride Miller plant finished water, range 0.65-1.06 ppm. Added under Ohio law. | 0.88 ppm | 4 ppm MCL | 2025 |
| Nitrate Miller plant finished water, range 0.49-1.10 ppm. Well below the limit; this is Ohio River water, not groundwater. | 1.10 ppm | 10 ppm MCL | 2025 |
| Turbidity Highest Miller-water result; 100% of monthly samples were below 0.3 NTU. | 0.16 NTU | TT: <=0.3 NTU… | 2025 |
| Cryptosporidium GCWW has never detected Crypto in treated water; it was found in 1 of 4 raw Ohio River samples in 2025. | not detected in… N/A | treatment… | 2025 |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) Norwood UCMR5/PFAS results: GenX averaged 0.7 ppt with a range of nd-3.5 ppt; PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS and PFBA… | 0.7 ppt | 10 ppt MCL | 2025 |
Source: norwoodohio.govcincinnati-oh.gov
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 1.7 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
EPA compliance record · Cincinnati Public Water System (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 2.1 ppb in 2026 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
Projects & plans6
Recent and current work
- Citywide radio-read water meter replacement · $2 million · 2022-2024 · completed
Approximately $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds used to replace all residential meters, ending decades of estimated bills; billing stayed… - Montgomery Road water main · 2025 · completed
Ordinance 21-2025 ratified bids for the Montgomery Rd water main; Ordinance 71-2025 authorized advertising for bids on a Montgomery-Crown water main repair. No… - Lead service line replacement, Lincoln Avenue · 2025 · under construction
Ordinance 05-2025 authorized a loan agreement to fund replacement of Lincoln Ave lead lines. Cost not published. - Lead service line replacement, Norwood to Fenwick and Worth to Dale · 2025 · under construction
Ordinances 14-2025 and 15-2025 authorized Ohio EPA loan applications for the Fenwick and Worth lead lines; Ordinances 30-2025 and 31-2025 executed the loan…
Source: norwood-ohio.comnorwood-ohio.com
Planned or needed
- Water main repair, Montgomery-Crown · 2025 · planned
Ordinance 71-2025 authorized the Safety-Service Director to advertise for bids. No cost published. - Mt. Airy Water Storage Facility rehabilitation, Phase 2 (supplier-side, GCWW) · $40 million · 2026-2028 · planned
A GCWW project, not Norwood's: Phase 1 design-build evaluation of the nearly 100-year-old tanks is budgeted at up to $3.8M and runs into 2026; Phase 2…
Supply stress
Norwood has had no independent water source since 1959 and holds no standby wells, so its supply security rests entirely on GCWW's Richard Miller plant and the Ohio River. Ohio EPA classifies the Ohio River as highly susceptible to contamination because it is open to the environment and pollution moves quickly downstream. GCWW's barriers…
Source: norwoodohio.gov
Sewers
Sanitary
Norwood does not run its own sewage treatment. The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati serves the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, which includes Norwood; the sewer charge appears as a line item on Norwood's quarterly utility bill, and the city's own billing material points customers to MSD's Customer Assistance…
Storm
Norwood's utility bill carries only water, sewer and garbage line items, with no separate stormwater fee.
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
- 45212 · Norwood and Cincinnati86% of residents
Also present in 1 more ZIP code
- 45209 · Cincinnati2% 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
Norwood City buys its water from Cincinnati Public Water System.
No other system is on record buying water from Norwood City.
What the records show about Norwood City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Norwood City as owned by a local government. It has 6,839 service connections and serves 19,870 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 513-458-4501.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Norwood City buys water that Cincinnati Public Water System treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Cincinnati Public Water System: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, granular activated carbon, lime softening, powdered activated carbon, and sand or media filtration.
Norwood City adds nothing of its own on that table.
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 Norwood City since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Norwood 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Norwood City was 1.7 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 4 ppb, in the period ending December 2017.
EPA has 9 sampling periods on file for Norwood 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 Norwood City sent EPA, 6,168 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 415 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 126 |
| Unknown material | 5,315 |
| Not lead | 312 |
| All lines | 6,168 |
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 5 samples of the water entering the pipes of Norwood City in 2023 to 2024 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 2 plants of Cincinnati Public Water System (latest sample March 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 2 plants of Cincinnati Public Water System as sampled, most recently August 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 Norwood City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 33.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 44.7 µg/L and the highest single sample was 102 µg/L, from 128 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 2.8 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 4.8 µg/L and the highest single sample was 12.1 µg/L, from 128 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 33.5 µg/L (2019) | 44.7 µg/L | 102 µg/L | 128 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 2.8 µg/L | 4.8 µg/L | 12.1 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 Norwood City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati Public Water System's.
Nitrate: the highest of 119 samples was 1.55 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2015; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.3 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 16 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 119 | 1.55 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 16 | 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 2 plants of Cincinnati 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 Cincinnati Public Water System.
Solvents and fuels
The water Norwood City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati 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 11 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | 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 Cincinnati Public Water System.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Norwood City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati Public Water System's.
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: barium in 16 of 16 samples, highest 54 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 11 samples, alachlor in 11 samples, chromium in 16 samples, cadmium in 16 samples, mercury in 16 samples, selenium in 16 samples, thallium in 16 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 16 | 16 of 16 | 54 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
EPA's file lumps the entry-point samples of all 2 plants of Cincinnati 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 Cincinnati Public Water System.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 0 of 1,920 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Norwood City tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 240 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 Norwood City buys its water from Cincinnati 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 Cincinnati Public Water System, which treats the water Norwood City buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.81 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Cincinnati Public Water System, which supplies Norwood City, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.79 to 0.98 mg/L across 16 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 Norwood 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 Norwood City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati 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 2 times in 288 raw-water samples, across 1 bloom season (2019); the highest raw-water result was 0.46 µg/L on October 2, 2019. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (285 samples).
In all, 573 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 288 | 2 | 0.46 µg/L |
| Treated water | 285 | 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 Norwood City with a computer model rather than drawing it from the utility's map, so its edges are approximate.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 19,042 residents are inside the boundary, 96% of the 19,870 people Norwood 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 — 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 OH3101703 (EPA ECHO).
Norwood City's own pages: cincinnati-oh.gov
Notable facts: norwoodohiohistoricalsociety.org, cincinnati-oh.gov, wvxu.org, norwoodohio.gov
History: norwoodohiohistoricalsociety.org, cincinnati-oh.gov, wvxu.org
Water quality: norwoodohio.gov, cincinnati-oh.gov
Planned work: norwood-ohio.com, cincinnati-oh.gov, wvxu.org
Capital projects: norwood-ohio.com, norwood-ohio.com
Rates: norwood-ohio.com, norwood-ohio.com, cincinnati-oh.gov
Sewers: msdgc.org, msdgc.org, norwood-ohio.com
Treatment: norwoodohio.gov, cincinnati-oh.gov
Supply stress: norwoodohio.gov