Water system
North Canton City
EPA ID OH7604312 · Stark County · 24,747 people served · owned by a local government
North Canton City treats its own water from Wells in buried valley & Massillon Sandstone aquifers.
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Buried Valley and Massillon Sandstone Aquifers
- Active wells
- 9
- Serves
- 24,747 people · Stark County
- EPA ID
- OH7604312
About this area's water
Did you know
- The city was New Berlin until 1918, when it renamed itself North Canton because association with German culture had become unfashionable during World War I.
- The upright vacuum cleaner was invented here: department store janitor James M. Spangler built the first one in June 1908, and William H. Hoover — who had moved his tannery to the village center in 1873 — bought the…
- The water plant keeps emergency connections to both the Canton Water System and Aqua Ohio's Massillon system, and used neither in 2025.
- The 2025 Arrowhead well was drilled 500-plus feet under a city-owned golf course for a chemical reason: sixty years of road salt have pushed chloride up across the northeastern US, and deeper, lower-chloride water is…
- In 2025 the system pumped 954 million gallons — an average of 2.64 million gallons a day — from just nine wells scattered across five sites, including two under an East Maple ball field.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgnorthcantonohio.govnorthcantonohio.gov
History6
- 1831Founded February 19, 1831 by German settlers as the Village of New Berlin, the first village platted in Plain Township, Stark County.
- 1908Department store janitor James M. Spangler invented the first upright vacuum cleaner in town in June 1908; William H. Hoover bought the patent, and the Hoover Company became the world's largest…
- 1912The municipal water system began with the city's first well and a 50,000-gallon storage tank.
- 1918The village renamed itself North Canton as association with German culture became unfashionable during World War I.
- 1928A second municipal well was added during post-WWI expansion.
- 1938-1940The city purchased the Freedom Avenue site and drilled two wells there (1938 and 1940), the nucleus of the present treatment plant property.
Source: northcantonohio.govnorthcantonohio.goven.wikipedia.org
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
All source water is groundwater: nine wells at five locations — two on the Freedom Avenue plant property, two at Price Park, two on Dressler Road, two at the East Maple ball field and one on the Oster property — drawing from the Buried Valley (sand and gravel) and Massillon Sandstone aquifers.…
Source: northcantonohio.govnorthcantonohio.gov
Water pressure
Not published. No psi figures or pressure zones appear in the CCR or on city pages. The system is fed by two elevated towers holding 2.25 million gallons combined — a…
Source: northcantonohio.gov
What it costs
$7.10 per 1,000 gallons
Chapter 937, Sec. 937.01 (Ord. 45-2023) sets rates directly per 1,000 gallons — no unit conversion involved. Residential inside the city, 2026: $7.10 for 0-15,000 gal/month, $8.13…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM (Total Trihalomethanes) Range 49.7-58.1 ppb; sampled 08/01/2025 at two distribution sites (2020 E. Maple St NW and 5455 Market Ave NW). No… | 58.1 ppb | 80 (MCL) | 2025 |
| HAA5 (Haloacetic Acids) Range 9.58-13.2 ppb. No violation. | 13.2 ppb | 60 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Fluoride Monthly monitoring; range 0.98-1.11 ppm. Added to promote healthy teeth. | 1.04 ppm | 4 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Nitrate Yearly sampling; range 0.000-0.100 ppm — effectively absent, notable for a shallow buried-valley aquifer. | <0.100 ppm | 10 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Barium Range 0.017-0.017 ppm. | 0.017 ppm | 2 (MCL) | 2025 |
| Chlorine (residual) Monthly samples from distribution microbiology sites; range 0.87-1.14 ppm. | 1.00 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) Zero of 45 samples exceeded the action level in the last required round, July 2023. | 0.000 ppb | 15 (action… | 2023 |
| Copper (90th percentile) Zero of 45 samples exceeded the action level, July 2023. | 0.0157 ppm | 1.3 (action… | 2023 |
| Dibromochloromethane Monthly at entry point EP-001; range 0.73-6.44 ppb. Disinfection by-product. | 6.44 ppb | no individual… | 2025 |
| Bromodichloromethane Range 0.55-4.75 ppb. Disinfection by-product. | 4.75 ppb | no individual… | 2025 |
Source: northcantonohio.gov
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.
Projects & plans1
Recent and current work
- Arrowhead Water Well Project · $1.7 million · 2025 · under construction
A new 500+ foot well on the city-owned Arrowhead Golf Course & Event Center property, intended as a lower-chloride source to blend with the existing wells and…
Source: northcantonohio.govsykes.house.govnorthcantonohio.gov
Supply stress
Volume is not the constraint; contamination risk is. The susceptibility analysis based on the January 2019 Bennett & Williams delineation update (with Ohio EPA assessments from October 2002 and June 2007) rates the source of drinking water HIGH susceptibility to contamination for three reasons: the water table is shallow, 4 to 17.7 feet…
Sewers
Sanitary
North Canton owns no wastewater treatment plant; it partners with Stark County and the City of Canton for sewer service. Residential sanitary sewer is a flat $33.50 per month, with bills increased 5% if not paid within fifteen days. The city runs a Satellite Sewer Discharge Control Program required under the City of Canton's NPDES…
Storm
A separate Storm Water program is listed on the city site. We found no flooding problems, combined sewer overflows or stormwater utility fee.
Source: northcantonohio.gov
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
- 44720 · North Canton and Canton67% of residents
Also present in 3 more ZIP codes
- 44709 · Canton11% of residents
- 44721 · Plain Township and Canton7% of residents
- 44685 · Green and Uniontown1% 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
North Canton City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
No other system is on record buying water from North Canton City.
What the records show about North Canton City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes North Canton City as owned by a local government. It has 9,181 service connections and serves 24,747 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 2025. Its office telephone on EPA's record is 330-499-1528.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for North Canton City: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, fluoridation, lime softening, 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 North Canton City since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for North Canton 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 2023, the 90th-percentile lead result at North Canton 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 3 sampling periods on file for North Canton 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 North Canton City sent EPA, 9,194 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 31 |
| Unknown material | 4,130 |
| Not lead | 5,033 |
| All lines | 9,194 |
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 2 samples of the water entering the pipes of North Canton City in 2024 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 North Canton City (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 North Canton City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 52.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 56.7 µg/L and the highest single sample was 64.9 µg/L, from 43 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 3.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 8.1 µg/L and the highest single sample was 8.9 µg/L, from 43 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 52.5 µg/L (2019) | 56.7 µg/L | 64.9 µg/L | 43 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 3.2 µg/L | 8.1 µg/L | 8.9 µg/L | 43 |
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 8 samples was 0.24 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, nitrate was not detected. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 3 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 8 | 0.24 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 3 | 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 1 of 3 samples, highest 29 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 3 samples, alachlor in 3 samples, chromium in 6 samples, cadmium in 6 samples, mercury in 3 samples, selenium in 3 samples, thallium in 3 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 6 | 0 of 6 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 3 | 1 of 3 | 29 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | 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 2,552 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at North Canton City tested positive (0.04%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 313 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 North Canton City adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at North Canton City.
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 0.81 to 0.93 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 found in 2 of 2 UCMR 5 samples at North Canton City, highest 10.4 µg/L; detections averaged 9.9, last sampled in 2024.
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.
How well the service area is mapped
The service area drawn on the map for North Canton City comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 30,714 residents are inside the boundary, 124% of the 24,747 people North Canton 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 — 4 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 OH7604312 (EPA ECHO).
North Canton City's own pages: northcantonohio.gov, northcantonohio.gov
Notable facts: en.wikipedia.org, northcantonohio.gov, northcantonohio.gov
History: northcantonohio.gov, northcantonohio.gov, en.wikipedia.org
Water quality: northcantonohio.gov
Water pressure: northcantonohio.gov
Capital projects: northcantonohio.gov, sykes.house.gov, northcantonohio.gov
Rates: northcantonohio.gov, northcantonohio.gov
Sewers: northcantonohio.gov
Treatment: northcantonohio.gov, northcantonohio.gov
Supply stress: northcantonohio.gov, northcantonohio.gov
