Water system
Elyria Water Department
EPA ID OH4700411 · Lorain County · 68,000 people served · owned by a local government
Elyria Water Department treats its own water from Lake Erie.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie
- Raw intakes
- Elyria Department Lake Eri
- Serves
- 68,000 people · Lorain County
- EPA ID
- OH4700411
About this area's water
Did you know
- Elyria's water plant is not in Elyria - it sits at 3628 West Erie Ave in the City of Lorain, and the water is pumped about 8 miles south to reach Elyria taps.
- The plant has run continuously since 1902. In 2024 it pumped over 4.48 billion gallons and served more than 120,000 people across several communities.
- Emergency interconnections with Avon Lake and Lorain County Rural Water can move up to 8 million gallons a day in either direction. Neither was used in 2024.
- Elyria's meters capture a reading every hour and radio it to city collectors; a leak icon warns of a possible leak, and the display lights up only under a flashlight.
History5
- 1879Elyria's first waterworks pumped untreated West Branch Black River water straight into the distribution system.
- 1898City leaders concluded the river water was unsafe after outbreaks of disease were traced back to it.
- 1901-1903Elyria bought 6.4 acres on the Lorain lakefront for under $3,000 and began pumping Lake Erie water 8 miles south.
- 1919-1922Bonds issued July 1919 built a modern 8-MGD plant; coagulation basin added May 1921, new low- and high-service pumps in 1922.
- 2024The plant pumped over 4.48 billion gallons and served more than 120,000 people across several communities.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Conventional surface-water treatment - coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and chlorination - at the plant at 3628 West Erie Ave, Lorain, fed by two Lake Erie intakes. Fluoride is added. Water is then pumped about 8 miles south to Elyria's five towers.
Water pressure
Not published. Pressure is held by five water towers and two remote pump stations on 230+ miles of main with 2,600 hydrants and 5,043 valves.
What it costs
$6.20 per 1,000 gallons
2025 inside-city: $4.64 per hcf (~$6.20 per 1,000 gal) plus a $10.68/mo service charge; outside city $7.01 per hcf plus $16.14. Effective Jan 1, 2025.
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM (total trihalomethanes) Range 13.9-70.7 ppb; chlorination byproduct, no violation. | 52.175 ppb | 80 ppb | 2024 |
| HAA5 (haloacetic acids) Range 0.0-24.5 ppb; chlorination byproduct, no violation. | 19.25 ppb | 60 ppb | 2024 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 30 samples exceeded the action level. | 1.07 ppb | 15 ppb (AL) | 2024 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 30 samples exceeded the action level. | 0.126 ppm | 1.3 ppm (AL) | 2024 |
| Nitrate Range <0.1-0.89; fertilizer runoff and septic leaching. Well below the limit. | 0.89 ppm | 10 ppm | 2024 |
| Fluoride Range 0.9172-0.9919; natural erosion plus dental-health additive. | 0.97188 ppm | 4 ppm | 2024 |
| Turbidity CCR table shows a 0.22 NTU high; its text says 0.17. 100% of samples met the limit. | 0.22 NTU | 0.3 NTU in 95%… | 2024 |
| Barium Drilling and refinery discharge plus natural deposits; far below the MCL. | 0.022 ppm | 2 ppm | 2024 |
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.
1 violation of any kind logged since 2020: 1 for required testing that was missed or reported late.
Projects & plans2
Recent and current work
- Lead service line replacement (Ohio EPA DWAF) · $922,062 · 2021
Ohio EPA principal forgiveness covering 225+ households; work was to begin March 2021. No completion notice found.
Planned or needed
- EPA-mandated water and sewer upgrades · 2025 · needed
The 2025 rate notice cites EPA-mandated Black River and Lake Erie projects plus aging infrastructure as the reason for the increases.
Supply stress
Lake Erie gives an essentially unlimited supply, so there is no drought stress. The 2024 CCR flags susceptibility from nearby Beaver Creek and Martin's Run, municipal wastewater discharges, air deposition, urban and farm runoff, leaking tanks, rail and vehicle spills, shipping and boating.
Sewers
Sanitary
The City of Elyria Wastewater Pollution Control Plant treats the city's sewage. Combined sewers remain in the oldest section, where designed emergency overflow points can release mostly rainwater plus some sewage to the Black River in heavy rain; the city says it is working to control them.
Storm
Elyria bills a separate stormwater utility charge alongside water, sewer and sanitation, with its own hotline and site (elyriastormwater.com). City ordinance 521.11 bans swimming in the Black River within city limits.
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
- 44035 · Elyria81% 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
Elyria Water Department does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
1 system on record buys water from Elyria Water Department: Amherst City.
What the records show about Elyria Water Department
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Elyria Water Department as owned by a local government. It has 24,490 service connections and serves 68,000 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 440-324-7669.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Elyria Water Department: 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 Elyria Water Department 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Elyria Water Department 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.
The highest result on file is 9.1 ppb, in the period ending December 2018.
EPA has 8 sampling periods on file for Elyria Water Department since 2016, the first ending in 2018; 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 Elyria Water Department sent EPA, 19,874 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 403 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 438 |
| Unknown material | 4,118 |
| Not lead | 14,915 |
| All lines | 19,874 |
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 10 samples of the water entering the pipes of Elyria Water Department in 2023 to 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 Elyria Water Department (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 Elyria Water Department's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 38.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 50.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 81.1 µg/L, from 256 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 21.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 29.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 60.7 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) | 50.2 µg/L | 81.1 µg/L | 256 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 21.2 µg/L | 29.9 µg/L | 60.7 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 96 samples was 1.31 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.17 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 | 1.31 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: atrazine in 1 of 8 samples, highest 0.28 µg/L (limit 3); barium in 8 of 8 samples, highest 20 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: 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 | 1 of 8 | 0.28 µg/L | 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 | 8 of 8 | 20 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, 3 of 7,480 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Elyria Water Department tested positive (0.04%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 959 did. E. coli was found in 3 of 5 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 Elyria Water Department adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Elyria Water Department.
Measured fluoride: 0.93 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.93 to 1.17 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 Elyria Water Department, 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 13 times in 245 raw-water samples, across 4 bloom seasons (2016 to 2023); the highest raw-water result was 0.98 µg/L on September 20, 2016. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (274 samples).
In all, 519 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 245 | 13 | 0.98 µg/L |
| Treated water | 274 | 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 Elyria Water Department for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $678 a year, about $57 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $1,038 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $306 | $609 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $678 | $1,038 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $1,124 | $1,553 |
The survey lists it as “Elyria”. 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
The service area drawn on the map for Elyria Water Department comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 50,013 residents are inside the boundary, 74% of the 68,000 people Elyria Water Department 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 OH4700411 (EPA ECHO).
Elyria Water Department's own pages: cityofelyria.org, cityofelyria.org, cityoflorain.org
