Water system
Aqua Ohio - Mentor
EPA ID OH4301511 · Lake County · 74,500 people served
Aqua Ohio - Mentor treats its own water from Lake Erie.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie
- Raw intakes
- Ohio Service Mentor Lake E
- Serves
- 74,500 people · Lake County
- EPA ID
- OH4301511
About this area's water
Did you know
- Aqua's 2024 CCR letter notes customers get treated water for 'about a penny a gallon.'
- Aqua Ohio invested nearly $522 million across its Ohio water systems from 2014 to 2024 on reliability and compliance.
- Mentor's 2024 TTHM results ranged from 17.6 all the way to 106 ppb, with some single samples above the 80 ppb limit, yet the system stayed compliant because the rule is scored on a running annual average (59.5 ppb).
- Back in 2018 Aqua spent $400,000 on a carbon feed system at the Mentor plant for one specific reason: to be ready for harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.
History4
- 2018Aqua Ohio replaced 7,700 linear feet of aging, undersized water mains and installed 22 new fire hydrants across three Mentor projects.
- 2018Aqua added a carbon feed system at the Mentor plant to improve treatment for potential harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.
- 2023Mentor took part in the fifth round of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, testing 29 PFAS compounds and lithium with no detections.
- 2014-2024Aqua invested nearly $522 million across its Ohio water systems for reliability and regulatory compliance, per its 2024 CCR letter.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Lake Erie water enters through an offshore intake, is filtered through media filters, dosed through a carbon feed system added in 2018 for algal-bloom events, fluoridated, and disinfected with chlorine; TOC removal and turbidity are tracked as compliance measures.
Water pressure
Not published; no psi figure appears in the 2024 CCR or in any Aqua Ohio material reviewed.
What it costs
We found no current Mentor residential water rate. PUCO case 25-0594-WW-AIR is an Aqua wastewater case and does not set Mentor water rates.
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Highest locational running annual average; individual results ranged 17.6-106 ppb. No violation. | 59.5 ppb | 80 ppb (MCL) | 2024 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 15.3-42.6 ppb; byproduct of chlorination. | 31.9 ppb | 60 ppb (MCL) | 2024 |
| Lead (90th percentile) Not detected; 0 of 30 samples exceeded the action level. | ND ppb | 15 ppb action… | 2023 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 30 samples exceeded the action level. | 0.23 ppm | 1.3 ppm action… | 2023 |
| Nitrate Range ND-0.9 ppm; well below the limit. | 0.9 ppm | 10 ppm (MCL) | 2024 |
| Fluoride Range 0.8-1.1 ppm; natural deposits plus water additive. | 1.0 ppm | 4 ppm (MCL) | 2023 |
| Total organic carbon (removal ratio) Below 1.0, but no violation: Mentor met the alternative TOC compliance criteria. | 0.9 ratio | TT: ratio of… | 2024 |
| PFAS (29 compounds, UCMR5) No detections of any of the 29 PFAS compounds or lithium. | not detected ppt | n/a (monitoring… | 2023 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 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 required testing that was missed or reported late.
Projects & plans4
Recent and current work
- Mentor water main and hydrant replacement · $1.9 million · 2018 · completed
7,700 ft of main on Johnnycake Ridge Rd, Perkins Dr/Low Ridge Ln and Hopkins Rd; 22 new hydrants plus 6 replaced. - Carbon feed system, Mentor treatment plant · $400,000 · 2018 · completed
Added to improve treatment for potential harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. - Filter media and under-drain replacement · $190,000 · 2018 · completed
Rebuilt three filters at the Mentor plant to improve reliability and finished-water quality.
Planned or needed
- Aqua Ohio statewide capital investment · $67 million · 2025 · planned
Roughly $67 million planned across all Aqua Ohio systems for treatment and delivery upkeep; not Mentor-specific.
Supply stress
The offshore Lake Erie intake sits in a protection area Aqua calls susceptible to wastewater discharges, agricultural and urban runoff, oil and gas transport, and shipping and boating. Aqua spent $400,000 in 2018 on a carbon feed system for potential algal blooms. No violations in 2024.
Sewers
Sanitary
Mentor's sanitary sewer is run by Lake County DoU, not Aqua: the Gary L. Kron (formerly Greater Mentor) Water Reclamation Facility, a 20 MGD activated sludge plant discharging to Lake Erie, serves Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Grand River, Fairport Harbor, Concord Twp and parts of Painesville Twp and Kirtland.
Storm
Not covered in the CCR or Aqua materials reviewed; Aqua Ohio - Mentor is a water-only utility.
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
- 44060 · Mentor97% of residents
Also present in 2 more ZIP codes
- 44094 · Willoughby13% of residents
- 44077 · Painesville13% 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
Aqua Ohio - Mentor does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
1 system on record buys water from Aqua Ohio - Mentor: Lake County Pinecrest Subdistrict.
What the records show about Aqua Ohio - Mentor
Who runs it
EPA's record says Aqua Ohio - Mentor has 32,735 service connections and serves 74,500 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 440-255-3984.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Aqua Ohio - Mentor: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, 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's record shows no health-based violations for Aqua Ohio - Mentor since 2015.
EPA logs 1 violation of any kind since 2020: 1 for required testing that was missed or reported late.
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 Aqua Ohio - Mentor 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 3 sampling periods on file for Aqua Ohio - Mentor 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 Aqua Ohio - Mentor sent EPA, 32,183 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 0 |
| Not lead | 32,183 |
| All lines | 32,183 |
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 Aqua Ohio - Mentor in 2023 and measured 29 PFAS. No PFAS was detected, PFOA and PFOS (federal limit 4 ng/L each) among them.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Aqua Ohio - Mentor (latest sample August 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 1 plant of Aqua Ohio - Mentor as sampled, most recently July 2025.
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 Aqua Ohio - Mentor's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 48.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 59.4 µg/L and the highest single sample was 128.9 µg/L, from 258 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 25.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 35.8 µg/L and the highest single sample was 60.8 µg/L, from 258 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 48.2 µg/L (2019) | 59.4 µg/L | 128.9 µg/L | 258 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 25.5 µg/L | 35.8 µg/L | 60.8 µg/L | 258 |
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 0.98 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2012; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.82 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 | 0.98 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 8 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | 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: chromium in 4 of 8 samples, highest 4.2 µg/L (limit 100); barium in 8 of 8 samples, highest 22 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine, alachlor, cadmium, mercury, selenium, and thallium, in 8 samples each.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 8 | 4 of 8 | 4.2 µg/L | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 8 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 8 | 8 of 8 | 22 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, 1 of 7,842 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Aqua Ohio - Mentor tested positive (0.01%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 983 did. E. coli was never found in the 1 sample 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 Aqua Ohio - Mentor adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Aqua Ohio - Mentor.
Measured fluoride: 0.69 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.1 to 1.07 mg/L across 9 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 Aqua Ohio - Mentor, 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.
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 14 times in 237 raw-water samples, across 6 bloom seasons (2016 to 2024); the highest raw-water result was 1.859 µg/L on September 26, 2017. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 0.25 µg/L.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (107 samples).
In all, 344 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 237 | 14 | 1.859 µg/L |
| Treated water | 107 | 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
The service area drawn on the map for Aqua Ohio - Mentor comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 70,925 residents are inside the boundary, 95% of the 74,500 people Aqua Ohio - Mentor 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 — 3 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 OH4301511 (EPA ECHO).
Aqua Ohio - Mentor's own pages: prod.aquawater.com
