Water system
Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb
EPA ID OH3200411 · Hancock County · 1,527 people served · owned by a local government
Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb buys its water from North Baltimore Village.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Rocky Ford Creek, North Baltimore Reservoir No. 1, North Baltimore Reservoir No. 2
- Raw intakes
- Reservoir
Rocky Ford - Serves
- 3,432 people · Wood County
- EPA ID
- OH8701611
About this area's water
Did you know
- McComb's water actually starts as North Baltimore's water: since a 2022-2024, ~$7.5 million waterline project, it's purchased wholesale and pumped from a single intake on Rocky Ford Creek into two reservoirs holding a…
- Because of past disinfection-byproduct violations, McComb is one of the relatively small number of Ohio systems required to run extra quarterly 'master meter' sampling for TTHM and HAA5 under the state's…
- The district built a whole new, roughly 8-mile waterline (2022-2024) so McComb could stop relying on its own algae-prone Rader Creek reservoirs and instead take water straight from North Baltimore — the switchover was…
- The 2024 CCR for McComb had to be publicly corrected the following year: the original report overstated disinfection byproduct levels (citing 70.6 ppb TTHM when the true figure was 55.15 ppb, and 86.4 ppb HAA5 when the…
History6
- 1993Northwestern Water & Sewer District formed to serve rural areas and small municipalities in Wood County.
- 1994District begins operations January 1.
- 2002District builds its Middleton Pike operations facility in Bowling Green (expanded 2013).
- 2020McComb Water Reclamation Facility (new $7.93M wastewater plant, 388,000 gpd rated capacity) completed, replacing a 1966-era plant that no longer met Ohio EPA discharge standards.
- 2021Excessive non-toxic algae/cyanobacteria growth in McComb's own Rader Creek reservoirs caused taste-and-odor complaints; the district treated the blooms and offered free WaterShed water, and began…
- 2022NWWSD board approves (Sept 22) the ~$7.5M McComb Regional Waterline Connection project to permanently connect McComb to North Baltimore's water supply.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
McComb no longer treats its own water: since the 2023 waterline switch it purchases 100% of its supply from the Village of North Baltimore. North Baltimore draws surface water from one intake on Rocky Ford Creek, pumped into two reservoirs (358 million gallons combined storage); its plant has 1.66…
Water pressure
Not published by McComb or its wholesale supplier, North Baltimore.
What it costs
Typical household bill about $103 a month for water.
A McComb-specific per-1,000-gallon rate is not separately published. NWWSD publishes a 2026 district-wide average residential bill (7,500 gal/month): $45.34/month water +…
Source: nwwsd.org
Water quality & impurities9
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 15.1-64 ppb; no violation. | 49.3 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 20.6-34.6 ppb; no violation. Separately, the corrected 2024 HAA5 level (60.80 ppb, range 23.5-40.0 ppb) WAS an… | 33.2 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile, McComb) Second-half-2025 monitoring, MCLG 0 ppb. The CCR's data table lists '1' individual result over the action level for… | <4 ppb | 15 (AL) | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile, McComb) 0.023 ppm first half of 2025, 0.067 ppm second half; 0 of 20 samples exceeded the action level in either period. | 0.023-0.067 ppm | 1.3 (AL) | 2025 |
| Turbidity (North Baltimore source) Range 0.01-0.19 NTU; 96-100% of monthly samples met the turbidity standard. | 0.19 NTU | 0.3 NTU in 95%… | 2025 |
| Nitrate (North Baltimore source) Agricultural runoff / erosion of natural deposits. | 1.36 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Fluoride (North Baltimore source) Range 0.80-1.11 ppm; naturally occurring plus water-additive fluoridation. | 0.86 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| PFBA (unregulated PFAS, UCMR5, North… Range ND-0.0055 ppb; monitored under EPA's 5th Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. | 0.0027 (average) ppb | no MCL… | 2025 |
| Total Chlorine (McComb) Range 0.8-1.36 ppm; residual disinfectant, no violation. | 1.08 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
Source: nwwsd.org
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2024Haloacetic acids (HAA5) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.061 MG/L (limit 0.06 MG/L) · returned to compliance
- 2023Haloacetic acids (HAA5) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.086 MG/L (limit 0.06 MG/L) · returned to compliance
- 2022Haloacetic acids (HAA5) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.075 MG/L (limit 0.06 MG/L) · returned to compliance
EPA's count of 7 includes 4 repeat quarterly violations of the problems listed.
9 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 2 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records); 7 health-based.
EPA compliance record · North Baltimore Village (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.
3 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 3 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
- McComb Regional Waterline Connection (North Baltimore hookup) · $7.5 million · 2022-2024 · completed
Approved by NWWSD board Sept 22, 2022; ~8 miles of new waterline built by Hillabrand & Sons Construction (~$7M) and B. Hill'z Excavating (~$500K); funded by a… - McComb cyanobacteria/algae taste-and-odor response · 2021 · completed
District treated late-summer cyanobacteria blooms in McComb's then-own Rader Creek reservoirs and offered free WaterShed water during the event; this ~2021… - McComb Water Reclamation Facility (WWTP) · $7.9 million · 2020 · completed
Replaced a 1966-era wastewater plant that no longer met Ohio EPA discharge standards; rated capacity 388,000 gpd (typical dry-weather flow 200,000-300,000… - McComb waterline/hydrant/meter-pit replacement (N. Liberty, W. Main, Pleasant, N. Walnut Streets) · $539,000 · unknown · completed
Smaller, separate project performed by B. Hill'z Excavating; exact year not stated in the source press release.
Supply stress
North Baltimore's Rocky Ford Creek intake, which now supplies 100% of McComb's water, is classified by Ohio EPA policy as 'susceptible' (as are all Ohio surface-water sources), given exposure to agricultural runoff, stormwater, gas stations/commercial sources, new-home construction, oil/gas wells, active/inactive landfills, and…
Source: nwwsd.org
Sewers
Sanitary
McComb's sanitary sewer is served by NWWSD's McComb Water Reclamation Facility, a $7.93M wastewater treatment plant completed in 2020 (rated capacity 388,000 gpd; typical dry-weather flow 200,000-300,000 gpd) that replaced a 1966-era plant no longer meeting Ohio EPA discharge standards; effluent undergoes UV disinfection before discharge…
Source: nwwsd.org
Main supplier in 1 ZIP code
Serves
Main water supplier in 1 ZIP code
- 45858 · Mccomb and Mc Comb52% 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
Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb buys its water from North Baltimore Village.
No other system is on record buying water from Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb.
What the records show about Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb as owned by a local government. It has 626 service connections and serves 1,527 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 419-354-9090.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb buys water that North Baltimore Village treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for North Baltimore Village: aeration, corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, 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 counts 7 health-based violations for Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb since 2015. Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a required treatment step not carried out. They fall into 3 separate problems (one contaminant or rule in one year); the table lists them all.
EPA logs a violation for each compliance period a problem lasts, so the count of 7 includes 4 repeat entries of the problems listed.
EPA logs 9 violations of any kind since 2020: 2 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records); 7 health-based.
| Year | Contaminant or rule | Kind | Measured | Limit | Status in EPA's record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | above the legal limit on average | 0.061 mg/L | 0.06 mg/L | returned to compliance |
| 2023 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | above the legal limit on average | 0.086 mg/L | 0.06 mg/L | returned to compliance |
| 2022 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | above the legal limit on average | 0.075 mg/L | 0.06 mg/L | returned to compliance |
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 Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb 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 7 sampling periods on file for Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb 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 Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb sent EPA, 664 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 152 |
| Not lead | 512 |
| All lines | 664 |
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
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb (latest sample September 2020). Not one of the six PFAS tested (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS) was detected.
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 Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 48 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 95.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 164.9 µg/L, from 56 samples taken from 2012 to 2019. A yearly average over 80 is not itself a violation, because compliance is judged site by site.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 44.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 47 µg/L and the highest single sample was 67.3 µg/L, from 56 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 48 µg/L (2019) | 95.9 µg/L | 164.9 µg/L | 56 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 44.2 µg/L | 47 µg/L | 67.3 µg/L | 56 |
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 96 samples was 2.1 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.24 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) | 96 | 2.1 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 10 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 10 | 0 of 10 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 10 | 0 of 10 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 10 | 0 of 10 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 10 | 0 of 10 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 10 | 0 of 10 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 10 | 0 of 10 | 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 5 of 14 samples, highest 0.34 µg/L (limit 3); barium in 8 of 8 samples, highest 38 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: alachlor in 14 samples, chromium in 8 samples, cadmium in 8 samples, mercury in 8 samples, selenium in 8 samples, thallium in 8 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 14 | 5 of 14 | 0.34 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 14 | 0 of 14 | 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 | 8 of 8 | 38 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, 0 of 377 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 48 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 Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb has fluoride from natural sources at the recommended level for preventing tooth decay. The level it reports is 1.08 mg/L.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at North Baltimore Village, which treats the water Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.83 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.83 to 1.1 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 North Baltimore Village, which supplies Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb, 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.
No microcystin was detected in the 188 raw-water samples.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (35 samples).
In all, 223 samples from 2016 to 2023, the latest on October 27, 2023.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 188 | 0 | not detected |
| Treated water | 35 | 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 Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb with a computer model rather than drawing it from the utility's map, so its edges are approximate.
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 OH3200411 (EPA ECHO).
Notable facts: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org
History: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org
Water quality: nwwsd.org
Capital projects: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org
Rates: nwwsd.org
Sewers: nwwsd.org
Treatment: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org
Supply stress: nwwsd.org
