Water system
Tuppers Plains/chester Water District
EPA ID OH5300612 · Meigs County · 16,087 people served
Tuppers Plains/chester Water District treats its own water from Local groundwater wells near Long Bottom (Ohio River valley area).
The system's record
- Active wells
- 6
- Serves
- 16,087 people · Meigs County
- EPA ID
- OH5300612
About this area's water
Did you know
- The district's treatment plant is built to strip C-8 (PFOA) and other 'forever chemicals' out of the water along with iron and manganese - an unusual capability for a small rural system, and a legacy of PFAS…
- The source is the Ohio Valley Aquifer, tapped by seven wells at Long Bottom; the treatment plant sits on Sand Hill Cemetery Road, directly across SR 124 from the wellfield.
- Twenty-one storage tanks holding over 3.1 million gallons and more than 600 miles of water line serve roughly 5,700 homes across a hilly, sparsely populated two-county area.
- The board is five directors elected by the district's own customers to three-year terms - the founding trustees are still named in every annual water quality report.
- It keeps emergency interconnects with Leading Creek Conservancy District, the Villages of Racine and Syracuse, and the City of Athens, but reports that on average these connections are not used in a given year.
History3
- 1966Tuppers Plains-Chester Water District created December 31, 1966 as a nonprofit government entity of Ohio under ORC Chapter 6119; original water board trustees were Lindsey L. Lyons Jr., Carl J.…
- 2024Ohio River crested above 41 feet on April 5, putting part of the Long Bottom wellfield underwater; a raw untreated sample taken April 6 tested positive for E. coli and customers were notified that…
- 2026Ohio EPA announced April 7 that the district would receive $4 million from the DuPont PFAS settlement distribution to install waterline extensions serving homeowners with PFOA-contaminated private…
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Water is drawn from seven wells at Long Bottom in the Ohio River valley, tapping the Ohio Valley Aquifer, and treated at the district's plant on Sand Hill Cemetery Road, across SR 124 from the wellfield. The district states its treatment process removes C-8 (PFOA) and other 'forever chemicals'…
Source: tpcwd.orgtpcwd.orgtpcwd.org
Water pressure
Not published. The district's CCR mentions 'normal water pressures of around 50 psi' only as a generic illustration in a warning about thermal expansion damage in home plumbing…
Source: tpcwd.org
What it costs
$7.50 per 1,000 gallons
Typical household bill about $36 a month for water.
Rates differ by service area, and only the monthly minimum differs -- the volumetric tiers are identical across all three. Original system: $28.30 per month minimum including the…
Source: tpcwd.org
Water quality & impurities9
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as N) Runoff from fertilizer use; erosion of natural deposits. | 1.52 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Fluoride Range 0.76-1.07 ppm; natural deposits plus the additive the district doses at the plant. | 0.91 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Barium Mineral deposits, drilling waste. Monitored less than annually. | 0.050 ppm | 2 | 2024 |
| Total Chlorine Range 0.87-1.71 ppm; disinfection residual. | 1.13 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range as printed 16.2-16.5 ppb; no violation. Well under the MCL, as expected for a groundwater system with low organic… | 16.0 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Gross alpha particle activity Natural background sources and decay of radionuclides; monitored less than annually. | 0.19 pCi/L | 15 | 2021 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 30 sampled homes over the action level. The district samples 30 homes each year. | 1.3 ppb | 15 (action… | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 30 sampled homes over the action level. Equivalent to 0.121 ppm against a 1.3 ppm action level. | 121 ppb | 1300 (action… | 2025 |
| Hardness (calcium, finished water) Reported by the district after softening; it warns customers to flush hot water heaters every 6-12 months to control… | 110-150 mg/L | no standard… | 2025 |
Source: tpcwd.org
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 1.3 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
4 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 2 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 2 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
- Phase 10 Water System Improvements · $6.8 million · completed
Roughly 45,600 feet of 12-inch, 10-inch, and 8-inch waterline replacement, a new 250,000-gallon elevated storage tank, a new above-grade 500 gpm booster…
Source: verdantas.com
Planned or needed
- DuPont settlement waterline extensions to PFAS-contaminated private wells · $4 million · 2026 · planned
Announced by Ohio EPA on April 7, 2026 as part of a $65 million distribution from the DuPont PFAS settlement. The extensions will connect homeowners in Meigs… - SR 248 and Bashan Road Water Line Replacement · planned
Replacement of approximately 17,800 feet of outdated and undersized water main with new 12-inch and 10-inch PVC C900 waterline plus 41 service replacements in… - Water Line Improvements 2025 (Athens and Meigs Counties) · 2026 · planned
Waterline improvements to be financed through Ohio EPA's Water Supply Revolving Loan Account; an Ohio EPA Limited Environmental Review was issued and the…
Source: wsaz.comtpcwd.orgciviciq.com
Supply stress
The main documented risk is contamination, not scarcity. Ohio EPA's Drinking Water Source Assessment determined the district's aquifer has HIGH susceptibility to contamination, and the district has built a source water protection plan around it. The Long Bottom wellfield sits in the Ohio River floodplain: when the river passed 41 feet…
Sewers
Sanitary
The district supplies water only and provides no sewer service. Households across its Meigs and Athens County service area are generally on individual septic systems; the district's own PFAS waterline extension work is aimed at homes on private wells, and its customer materials repeatedly address septic-system topics. No district-owned…
Storm
Not applicable - the district operates no storm sewer system and publishes nothing on stormwater.
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 2 ZIP codes
- 45783 · Olive Township and Tuppers Plains100% of residents
- 45772 · Olive Township and Reedsville6% of residents
Also present in 1 more ZIP code
- 45723 · Troy Township and Coolville6% 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
Tuppers Plains/chester Water District does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
1 system on record buys water from Tuppers Plains/chester Water District: Coolville Village.
What the records show about Tuppers Plains/chester Water District
Who runs it
EPA's record says Tuppers Plains/chester Water District has 6,461 service connections and serves 16,087 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 740-985-3315.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Tuppers Plains/chester Water District: chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, granular activated carbon, and ion-exchange softening.
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 Tuppers Plains/chester Water District since 2015.
EPA logs 4 violations of any kind since 2020: 2 for required testing that was missed or reported late; 2 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Tuppers Plains/chester Water District was 1.3 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 4.2 ppb, in the period ending December 2023.
EPA has 8 sampling periods on file for Tuppers Plains/chester Water District 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 Tuppers Plains/chester Water District sent EPA, 5,664 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 0 |
| Not lead | 5,664 |
| All lines | 5,664 |
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
EPA's fifth national round of testing (UCMR 5) took 3 samples of the water entering the pipes of Tuppers Plains/chester Water District in 2025 and measured 29 PFAS. No PFAS was detected, PFOA and PFOS (federal limit 4 ng/L each) among them.
The system reported PFAS treatment: granular activated carbon.
The system reported potential PFAS sources near its supply.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Tuppers Plains/chester Water District (latest sample June 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 Tuppers Plains/chester Water District 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 Tuppers Plains/chester Water District's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 20.6 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 22.9 µg/L and the highest single sample was 25.7 µg/L, from 37 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 0 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 0.4 µg/L and the highest single sample was 6.7 µg/L, from 37 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 20.6 µg/L (2019) | 22.9 µg/L | 25.7 µg/L | 37 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 0 µg/L | 0.4 µg/L | 6.7 µg/L | 37 |
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 7 samples was 2.3 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2018, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.7 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 4 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 7 | 2.3 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 4 | 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 3 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | 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 3 of 4 samples, highest 55.3 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 2 samples, alachlor in 2 samples, chromium in 4 samples, cadmium in 4 samples, mercury in 4 samples, selenium in 4 samples, thallium in 4 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 2 | 0 of 2 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 4 | 3 of 4 | 55.3 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | 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 1,458 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Tuppers Plains/chester Water District tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 182 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 Tuppers Plains/chester Water District adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Tuppers Plains/chester Water District.
Measured fluoride: 0.92 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2018 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.92 to 0.97 mg/L across 3 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 2 UCMR 5 samples at Tuppers Plains/chester Water District, 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.
Water and sewer bills
Ohio EPA's 2023 rate survey puts the water bill at Tuppers Plains/chester Water District for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $494 a year, about $41 a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $322 | not on file |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $494 | not on file |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $754 | not on file |
The survey lists it as “Tuppers Plains Chester Water”. 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 Tuppers Plains/chester Water District 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 485 residents are inside the boundary, 3% of the 16,087 people Tuppers Plains/chester Water District reports serving. With so much of its territory outside the polygon, part of the system shows on the map as private wells.
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.
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 OH5300612 (EPA ECHO).
Tuppers Plains/chester Water District's own pages: tpcwd.org, web.ohioruralwater.org
Notable facts: tpcwd.org, tpcwd.org, athensmessenger.com
History: tpcwd.org, athensmessenger.com, athensmessenger.com, tpcwd.org
Water quality: tpcwd.org
Planned work: wsaz.com, tpcwd.org, civiciq.com
Water pressure: tpcwd.org
Capital projects: verdantas.com
Rates: tpcwd.org
Treatment: tpcwd.org, tpcwd.org, tpcwd.org
Supply stress: tpcwd.org, athensmessenger.com, wsaz.com, tpcwd.org
