Water system
Napoleon City
EPA ID OH3500811 · Henry County · 8,858 people served · owned by a local government
Napoleon City treats its own water from Maumee River (with Wauseon reservoirs as backup/blend storage).
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Maumee River
- Raw intakes
- Wauseon MG Reservoir
Maumee River - Serves
- 8,858 people · Henry County
- EPA ID
- OH3500811
About this area's water
Did you know
- Napoleon's plant pumped 388 million gallons of raw Maumee River water uphill to the Wauseon reservoir in 2025 - and the pipe can be reversed to pull that stored water back by gravity when the river is unusable, which is…
- The city's water plant is one of fewer than ten in Ohio using ultraviolet disinfection, added as part of the 2015-2018 conversion to reverse-osmosis membrane softening.
- Campbell's largest soup plant is in Napoleon, turning out more than 619 million cans of soup, 678 million containers of V8 and 136 million jars of Prego and Pace a year.
- A July 2026 fertilizer and ammonia spill upstream on Huston Creek killed an estimated 18,000-20,000 fish along about 11 miles of the Maumee - the same river the city drinks from - after bacteria consuming the ammonia…
Source: napoleonohio.comnapoleonohio.comthecampbellscompany.com
History6
- 1992City installed its current Maumee River raw-water intake facility on West Riverview Ave.
- 1997-1998$3.8 million wastewater plant expansion raised peak hydraulic capacity to 7.5 MGD.
- 20102.5 million-gallon equalization basin and UV disinfection units added at the wastewater plant to capture and treat wet-weather/combined-sewer flow.
- 2015-2018Three-year, $17.8 million rehabilitation converted the lime-soda softening plant to a nanofiltration/reverse-osmosis membrane softening facility with UV disinfection; completed fall 2018.
- 2021-2025Multi-year, roughly $12 million renovation of the wastewater treatment plant (new headworks building, third primary settling tank, recirculation building and pumps, screw presses) completed…
- 2026A July liquid-fertilizer (ammonia) release into Huston Creek in Flatrock Township, followed by failure of containment dams on July 11, killed an estimated 18,000-20,000 fish over about 11 miles of…
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Surface water from a Maumee River intake. Pretreatment with sodium permanganate and carbon in contact basins; coagulation with aluminum chlorohydrate; four-stage vertical flocculation; sedimentation with plate settlers; rapid sand filters; 1-micron cartridge filters; nanofiltration and…
Source: napoleonohio.comnapoleonohio.com
Water pressure
Not published. System storage is two underground clearwells (150,000 and 1,000,000 gallons) plus a north tower (750,000 gallons) and a south tower (200,000 gallons), with three…
Source: napoleonohio.com
What it costs
$12.93 per 1,000 gallons
Typical household bill about $66 a month for water.
Codified Ordinance 931.07 (Ord. 086-20, passed 2-1-21), rate steps effective through the 2024 schedule, which the code library shows as current: inside-corporation commodity…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) range of detections 22.90-78.6 ppb; no violation, but the highest single result is close to the standard | 60.93 ppb | 80 ppb MCL | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) range printed as 6.2-15.8 ppb; no violation | 16.08 ppb | 60 ppb MCL | 2025 |
| Nitrate range 0.028-6.85 ppm; peak is about two-thirds of the standard, reflecting Maumee River farm runoff | 6.85 ppm | 10 ppm MCL | 2025 |
| Atrazine range 0-0.64 ppb; runoff from row-crop herbicide | 0.64 ppb | 3 ppb MCL | 2025 |
| Fluoride range 0.96-1.12 ppm; added for dental health | 1.12 ppm | 4 ppm MCL | 2025 |
| Barium range 0-0.030 ppm | 0.030 ppm | 2 ppm MCL | 2025 |
| Total chlorine range 1.37-1.72 ppm | 1.55 ppm | 4 ppm MRDL | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) range 0-0.041 ppm; 0 of 20 sites above the action level | 0.021 ppm | 1.3 ppm action… | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 20 sites above the action level | <2 ppb | 15 ppb action… | 2025 |
| Turbidity highest recorded 0.11 NTU; 100% of monthly samples met the limit | 0.11 NTU | 0.3 NTU in 95%… | 2025 |
Source: napoleonohio.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.
Projects & plans3
Recent and current work
- Water treatment plant conversion to reverse-osmosis/nanofiltration membrane softening with UV · $18 million · 2015-2018 · completed
Three-phase rehabilitation of the former lime-soda softening plant; cost reported at the 2019 unveiling. - Wastewater treatment plant 2.5 MG equalization basin, 30 MGD screw pump station, 10 MGD UV disinfection and… · 2010 · completed
Ohio EPA-mandated wet-weather storage that allows combined-sewer overflow to receive primary-equivalent treatment and UV rather than going straight to the… - Wastewater treatment plant renovation (headworks building, third primary settling tank, recirculation… · $12 million · 2021-2025 · completed
Construction began June 2021; cost reported by local press (Northwest Signal); the article itself was rate-limited during verification, so treat the figure as…
Supply stress
Ohio EPA treats all Ohio surface water as highly susceptible to contamination, and Napoleon's CCR says the drinking water source protection area contains agriculture, septic systems, oil and gas activity, combined sewer overflows, wastewater discharges, roadways and railways. The practical exposure is upstream events on the Maumee: the…
Source: napoleonohio.comnorthwestsignal.netdam.assets.ohio.gov
Sewers
Sanitary
City wastewater treatment plant at 735 E. Washington St., built 1958 and rehabilitated in 1982, expanded in 1997-98 for $3.8 million. Average daily flow 2.6 MGD, maximum daily 4.7 MGD, peak hydraulic capacity 7.5 MGD. Treatment is screening, primary settling, two 55-foot trickling-filter biotowers, three final settling tanks (761,240…
Storm
Partly combined: the city's west and south sides have combined sewers, and Napoleon files an annual combined sewer overflow public notification report with Ohio EPA. The 2.5 MG equalization basin with integrated 10 MGD UV lets overflow be treated instead of…
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
- 43545 · Napoleon61% 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
Napoleon City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
4 systems on record buy water from Napoleon City: Florida Village, Malinta Village, Northwestern W and SD - Co. Rd P, Northwestern W and SD - Sr 108.
What the records show about Napoleon City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Napoleon City as owned by a local government. It has 3,720 service connections and serves 8,858 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 419-592-4010.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Napoleon City: corrosion control, cartridge filtration, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, dechlorination, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, powdered activated carbon, reverse osmosis, 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 Napoleon City since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Napoleon 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 Napoleon City 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 10 sampling periods on file for Napoleon 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 Napoleon City sent EPA, 3,646 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 27 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 40 |
| Unknown material | 2,266 |
| Not lead | 1,313 |
| All lines | 3,646 |
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 Napoleon 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 results were PFPeA 9.1 ng/L, PFHxA 7.1 ng/L, and PFBS 3.6 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Napoleon City (latest sample August 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 Napoleon City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 43.1 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 56.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 90.8 µg/L, from 62 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 17.1 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 19.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 37.7 µg/L, from 62 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 43.1 µg/L (2019) | 56.2 µg/L | 90.8 µg/L | 62 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 17.1 µg/L | 19.2 µg/L | 37.7 µg/L | 62 |
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 374 samples was 9.65 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 3.96 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) | 374 | 9.65 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 12 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 12 | 0 of 12 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 12 | 0 of 12 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 12 | 0 of 12 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 12 | 0 of 12 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 12 | 0 of 12 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 12 | 0 of 12 | 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 all nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: atrazine in 47 of 68 samples, highest 11 µg/L (limit 3, 7 over); 2,4-D in 1 of 3 samples, highest 0.2 µg/L (limit 70); barium in 4 of 8 samples, highest 15 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: alachlor in 69 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 | 68 | 47 of 68 | 11 µg/L | 7 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 69 | 0 of 69 | not detected | 0 |
| 2,4-D | Farm chemical | 70 µg/L | 3 | 1 of 3 | 0.2 µg/L | 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 | 4 of 8 | 15 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, 2 of 974 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Napoleon City tested positive (0.21%); in 2019, the last year on file, 1 of 120 did. E. coli was never found in the 2 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 Napoleon City adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Napoleon City.
Measured fluoride: 0.97 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.8 to 1.15 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 Napoleon 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
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 32 times in 266 raw-water samples, across 8 bloom seasons (2016 to 2026); the highest raw-water result was 3.997 µg/L on October 25, 2016. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 1.316 µg/L.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (149 samples).
In all, 415 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 266 | 32 | 3.997 µg/L |
| Treated water | 149 | 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).
Water and sewer bills
Ohio EPA's 2023 rate survey puts the water bill at Napoleon City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $779 a year, about $65 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $888 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $417 | $614 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $779 | $888 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $1,214 | $1,217 |
The survey lists it as “Napoleon”. 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
EPA estimated the service area of Napoleon 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 8,535 residents are inside the boundary, 96% of the 8,858 people Napoleon 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 — 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 OH3500811 (EPA ECHO).
Napoleon City's own pages: napoleonohio.com, northwestsignal.net
Notable facts: napoleonohio.com, napoleonohio.com, thecampbellscompany.com, toledoblade.com
History: napoleonohio.com, napoleonohio.com, wtol.com, northwestsignal.net
Water quality: napoleonohio.com
Water pressure: napoleonohio.com
Capital projects: wtol.com, stantec.com, northwestsignal.net, napoleonohio.com
Rates: codelibrary.amlegal.com, northwestsignal.net
Sewers: napoleonohio.com, napoleonohio.com, stantec.com
Treatment: napoleonohio.com, napoleonohio.com
Supply stress: napoleonohio.com, northwestsignal.net, dam.assets.ohio.gov
