Water system
Lake County West Water Subdistrict
EPA ID OH4302411 · Lake County · 78,379 people served · owned by a local government
Lake County West Water Subdistrict treats its own water from Lake Erie.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie
- Raw intakes
- Lake Co Lake Erie Int
- Serves
- 78,379 people · Lake County
- EPA ID
- OH4302411
About this area's water
Did you know
- The Aquarius plant draws Lake Erie water through a 60-inch pipe reaching roughly 3,100 feet offshore -- more than half a mile out into the lake.
- Lake County's water program won the AWWA Directors Award of Recognition, one of only 8 of Ohio's 300 surface-water treatment facilities to be so honored.
- The county's water division maintains over 550 miles of water main serving more than 116,000 residents across both the East and West sub-districts.
- PFOA and PFOS were both detected in West Sub-District tap water in 2025, at 1.1 and 1.7 parts per trillion -- real detections, but well under the new 4.0 ppt federal limit.
History5
- 1964Greater Mentor wastewater plant built as a 4 MGD primary treatment plant with chemical coagulation, serving the fast-growing Mentor area.
- 1985Aquarius Water Treatment Facility opens in Willoughby as the West Sub-District's Lake Erie plant, with a 20 MGD design capacity.
- 2000Greater Mentor plant expanded to a 20 MGD activated sludge facility with 32 MGD peak design and 55 MGD hydraulic capacity.
- 2002Ohio EPA completes source water assessments for the Lake County East and West Sub-District Lake Erie intakes.
- 2015Greater Madison plant expansion completed at 5 MGD with secondary treatment and UV disinfection, able to discharge up to 15 MGD.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Lake Erie water enters via a 60-inch intake about 3,100 ft offshore, passes traveling screens, rapid-mix and flocculation tanks and sedimentation basins, then dual-media anthracite-and-sand filters; it is chlorinated and fluoridated and held in a 1.17-million-gallon clear well.
Water pressure
Not published. The Aquarius plant pumps raw water at 61,500 gallons per minute, but Lake County publishes no system-wide psi figure.
What it costs
$6.26 per 1,000 gallons
Typical household bill about $18 a month for water.
$4.68 per 100 cubic feet; $42.12/quarter minimum (0-900 cf); county-published average residential bill $53.40/quarter. No effective year shown on the rates page.
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 15.7-55.8 ppb; no violation. Byproduct of chlorination. | 46.9 ppb | 80 ppb (MCL) | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 7.5-37.6 ppb; no violation. | 23.18 ppb | 60 ppb (MCL) | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) Zero of 30 samples exceeded the action level. | <2.0 ppb | 15 ppb action… | 2024 |
| Copper (90th percentile) Zero of 30 samples exceeded the action level. | 0.078 ppm | 1.3 ppm action… | 2024 |
| Nitrate Range <0.10-1.68 ppm; well under the limit. | 1.68 ppm | 10 ppm (MCL) | 2025 |
| Turbidity Range 0.02-0.13 NTU; 100% of samples met the standard. | 0.13 NTU | TT: 0.3 NTU in… | 2025 |
| PFOS Detected. UCMR5 average 0.0017 ppb, range 1.2-2.1 ppt; under the federal MCL. | 1.7 ppt | 4.0 ppt (MCL) | 2025 |
| PFOA Detected. UCMR5 average 0.0011 ppb, range ND-1.6 ppt; under the federal MCL. | 1.1 ppt | 4.0 ppt (MCL) | 2025 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2024 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
2 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 1 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 1 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
Supply stress
No scarcity risk on Lake Erie, but Ohio EPA's source water assessment found the Chagrin River mouth near the West Sub-District intake raises susceptibility. Listed threats: shipping and boating spills, shoreline and stream runoff, oil and gas transport, dredging sediment, and CSO discharges.
Sewers
Sanitary
Lake County DoU runs sewer separately from the water sub-districts, with 500+ miles of line. Its Gary L. Kron (formerly Greater Mentor) plant at 20 MGD and the Madison plant at 5 MGD both discharge to Lake Erie but serve central and eastern county. In the west the county runs only the Dodd Hill package plant in Willoughby Hills.
Storm
Not detailed in county sources for the West Sub-District communities, though the 2025 report does list combined sewer overflows among Lake Erie source-water threats.
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Main supplier in 3 ZIP codes
Serves
Main water supplier in 3 ZIP codes
- 44095 · Eastlake97% of residents
- 44092 · Wickliffe92% of residents
- 44094 · Willoughby68% 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
Lake County West Water Subdistrict does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
No other system is on record buying water from Lake County West Water Subdistrict.
What the records show about Lake County West Water Subdistrict
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Lake County West Water Subdistrict as owned by a local government. It has 29,150 service connections and serves 78,379 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 440-350-2155.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Lake County West Water Subdistrict: 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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict since 2015.
EPA logs 2 violations of any kind since 2020: 1 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 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 2024, the 90th-percentile lead result at Lake County West Water Subdistrict 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 4 sampling periods on file for Lake County West Water Subdistrict 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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict sent EPA, 27,914 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 1 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 22,556 |
| Not lead | 5,357 |
| All lines | 27,914 |
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 6 samples of the water entering the pipes of Lake County West Water Subdistrict in 2025 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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict (latest sample July 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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict as sampled, most recently November 2025; it flags PFAS detected at the plant.
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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 38.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 46.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 78.5 µg/L, from 264 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 20.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 25.6 µg/L and the highest single sample was 48.2 µg/L, from 256 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 38.9 µg/L (2019) | 46.9 µg/L | 78.5 µg/L | 264 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 20.2 µg/L | 25.6 µg/L | 48.2 µg/L | 256 |
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 97 samples was 1.68 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2015; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.71 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) | 97 | 1.68 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: barium in 6 of 8 samples, highest 21 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine, alachlor, chromium, 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 | 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 | 6 of 8 | 21 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 8,204 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Lake County West Water Subdistrict tested positive (0.02%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 966 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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Lake County West Water Subdistrict.
Measured fluoride: 1.01 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.58 to 1.16 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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict, 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.
At the intake, microcystin was detected 14 times in 234 raw-water samples, across 5 bloom seasons (2016 to 2023); the highest raw-water result was 2.189 µg/L on September 26, 2017. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (99 samples).
In all, 333 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 234 | 14 | 2.189 µg/L |
| Treated water | 99 | 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 Lake County West Water Subdistrict comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 72,740 residents are inside the boundary, 93% of the 78,379 people Lake County West Water Subdistrict 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 OH4302411 (EPA ECHO).
Lake County West Water Subdistrict's own pages: lakecountyohio.gov, lakecountyohio.gov