Water system
Girard City
EPA ID OH7801103 · Trumbull County · 14,122 people served · owned by a local government
Girard City buys its water from Niles City.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Meander Creek Reservoir, Berlin Reservoir
- Raw intakes
- Meander Creek Reservoir
Berlin Reservoir - EPA ID
- OH7801811
About this area's water
Did you know
- Girard owns no treatment plant and no wells - it buys finished water from four different MVSD members (Niles, Youngstown, McDonald and Trumbull County), all of it originally the same Meander Creek Reservoir water, and…
- Meander Creek Reservoir runs about seven miles long across 2,010 acres with 40 miles of shoreline and holds roughly 11 billion gallons; MVSD owns 5,500 acres around it, enclosed by 35 miles of fence, reforested with…
- A billing dispute turned into a water rate: when Niles worked out that Girard had been undercharged about $1.6 million since 2020, Girard customers absorbed a 16% increase to pay it back - and the rate is supposed to…
- Trihalomethanes in Girard's distribution system averaged 69.5 ppb in 2024 against an 80 ppb limit, with individual samples as high as 89.4 ppb - the tightest margin on any regulated contaminant in this batch.
- Girard still owns the two dams at Girard Lake, bought for $2.5 million in 1995; ODNR called the lower one unsafe in 2007 and the city is now under a five-year ODNR deadline to fix the upper dam, with work targeted for…
History6
- 1926Mahoning Valley Sanitary District formed to develop and manage the Meander Creek Reservoir supply.
- 1932MVSD began delivering treated water to its member cities.
- 1962Girard's Water Pollution Control Facility built at 945 South State Street.
- 1995The city bought the two Girard Lake dams for $2.5 million.
- 2002Girard completed a CSO Long Term Control Plan proposing to eliminate every combined sewer overflow except the one at the treatment plant.
- 2007ODNR declared the lower Girard Lake dam unsafe, citing eroded sections, maintenance issues and inadequate spillway capacity.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Girard treats no water of its own. It is a satellite distribution system within the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, buying already-finished water from Niles, Youngstown, McDonald and Trumbull County - all MVSD systems drawing from Meander Creek Reservoir and treated at the district plant at 1181…
Source: cityofgirardoh.govmeanderwater.orgcityofgirardoh.gov
Water pressure
Not published. Neither Girard's CCR nor its water department page carries a psi figure, pressure-zone count, or storage description.
What it costs
$6.94 per 1,000 gallons
Girard bills water and sewer together on a bi-monthly cycle, with sewer charges driven by metered water use. In October 2024 council set the in-city rate at $6.94 per 1,000…
Source: tribtoday.comcityofgirardoh.gov
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) Locational running annual average; individual samples ranged 50 to 89.4 ppb, so single results exceeded the 80 ppb MCL… | 69.525 ppb | 80 | 2024 |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) Range 18.8-38 ppb. | 33.425 ppb | 60 | 2024 |
| Chlorine Range 1.39-1.79 ppm. | 1.663 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2024 |
| Fluoride Range 0.85-1.15 ppm; also reported against the 2.0 ppm secondary standard. | 0.99 ppm | 4 | 2024 |
| Nitrate Range ND-0.57 ppm. | 0.37 ppm | 10 | 2024 |
| Asbestos Decay of asbestos-cement water mains; far below the limit. Monitored less than annually. | <0.062 MFL | 7 | 2022 |
| Turbidity 100% of monthly samples met the treatment-technique limit. | 0.13 NTU | treatment… | 2024 |
| Total organic carbon (removal ratio) Range 1.20-2.20; a value above 1 means the removal requirement was met. | 1.66 ratio | >1 (treatment… | 2024 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 120 sites above the action level; individual results ranged ND to 7.4 ppb. | 0 ppb | 15 (action… | 2024 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 120 sites above the action level; range ND-0.0718 ppm. | 0.0572 ppm | 1.3 (action… | 2024 |
Source: cityofgirardoh.gov
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 a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
EPA compliance record · Mahoning Valley Sanitary District (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
Projects & plans5
Recent and current work
- Girard WPCF plant improvement project · 2020 · completed
Completed May 2020. Eliminated or minimized use of the secondary-treatment bypass and gave the plant the ability to treat a 12 MGD peak flow through primary… - UV disinfection and supplemental peracetic acid upgrades · 2020 · completed
Ohio EPA credits these upgrades with resolving the plant's 2019 and 2020 E. coli effluent violations. Cost not published. - MVSD Mineral Ridge dam rehabilitation · under construction
MVSD reports dam rehabilitation work at Mineral Ridge; the environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact were finalized in February 2023 and…
Source: dam.assets.ohio.govmeanderwater.org
Planned or needed
- Girard Lake Upper Dam rehabilitation · $713,900 · 2030 · planned
ODNR has given the city five years to fix the dams it bought in 1995, or the agency will intervene at greater expense plus penalties. Work includes a new… - Repayment of Niles wholesale water arrears · $1.6 million · 2024-2028 · planned
Roughly $1.6 million owed to Niles for underbilled wholesale water covering 2020-2023, to be repaid over four years and funded by the 16% (easing to 12% in…
Source: vindy.comtribtoday.com
Supply stress
Girard's raw-water risk is entirely MVSD's to manage. The source water assessment treats all surface water as inherently susceptible, and names for the Meander Creek Reservoir protection area: row-crop agricultural runoff, eight animal feedlots, oil and gas wells, failing home and commercial septic systems, runoff from new housing and…
Source: cityofgirardoh.govvindy.com
Sewers
Sanitary
The City of Girard Water Pollution Control Facility at 945 South State Street discharges to Little Girard Creek and then to the Mahoning, Beaver and Ohio rivers (Ohio EPA permit 3PD00010, application OH0025364). Built in 1962 and last upgraded in 2020, it has a 5.0 MGD average design flow and 12 MGD peak hydraulic capacity, and serves…
Storm
About 35.4% of Girard's collection system is combined sanitary-and-storm sewer. One combined sewer overflow remains - CSO 3PD00010003, next to the treatment plant and regulated by the allowable flow to the plant headworks - after the 2002 Long Term Control…
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
- 44420 · Girard78% of residents
Also present in 5 more ZIP codes
- 44505 · Youngstown8% of residents
- 44440 · Weathersfield Township and Mineral Ridge8% of residents
- 44437 · Mcdonald and Mc Donald2% of residents
- 44425 · Hubbard1% of residents
- 44446 · Niles0% 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
Girard City buys its water from Niles City, which buys from Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.
No other system is on record buying water from Girard City.
What the records show about Girard City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Girard City as owned by a local government. It has 6,000 service connections and serves 14,122 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 330-545-3306.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Girard City buys water that Mahoning Valley Sanitary District treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Mahoning Valley Sanitary District: chloramine disinfection, corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, lime softening, 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 Girard City since 2015.
EPA logs 1 violation of any kind since 2020: 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Girard 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.
The highest result on file is 2 ppb, in the period ending June 2023.
EPA has 13 sampling periods on file for Girard City since 2016, the first ending in 2016; 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 Girard City sent EPA, 6,253 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 143 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 4,115 |
| Not lead | 1,995 |
| All lines | 6,253 |
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 8 samples of the water entering the pipes of Girard City in 2023 to 2024 and measured 29 PFAS.
The highest PFOA or PFOS result, 20.1 ng/L, is at or above the federal limit of 4 ng/L that EPA set in 2024. Systems have until 2029 to comply, and in May 2026 EPA proposed letting systems apply for two more years. One sample over the limit is not a violation: compliance is judged on a running annual average.
The highest PFAS results were PFOS 20.1 ng/L, PFHxS 10.3 ng/L, and PFBA 7.5 ng/L.
The hazard index for the PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS mixture reached 1.03 in the worst sample; above 1 would exceed the 2024 mixture limit, which EPA proposed in May 2026 to withdraw.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Mahoning Valley Sanitary District (latest sample May 2021). The highest result was PFOS at 10.9 ppt (ppt is the same unit as ng/L), against Ohio's action level of 70 ppt. Those action levels are the ones Ohio EPA used for the survey; the 2024 federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's current sampling status map lists 1 plant of Mahoning Valley Sanitary District as sampled, most recently July 2026.
| Compound | Highest result | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA | not detected | 4 ng/L |
| PFOS | 20.1 ng/L | 4 ng/L |
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 Girard City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 56.7 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 67.7 µg/L and the highest single sample was 95.1 µg/L, from 128 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 25.4 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 40 µg/L and the highest single sample was 62.1 µg/L, from 128 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 56.7 µg/L (2019) | 67.7 µg/L | 95.1 µg/L | 128 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 25.4 µg/L | 40 µg/L | 62.1 µg/L | 128 |
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
The water Girard City buys is treated by Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, so the results below are Mahoning Valley Sanitary District's.
Nitrate: the highest of 187 samples was 0.71 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2013; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.47 mg/L. 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) | 187 | 0.71 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 of Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.
Solvents and fuels
The water Girard City buys is treated by Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, so the results below are Mahoning Valley Sanitary District's.
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 13 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 13 | 0 of 13 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 13 | 0 of 13 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 13 | 0 of 13 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 13 | 0 of 13 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 13 | 0 of 13 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 13 | 0 of 13 | 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 of Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Girard City buys is treated by Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, so the results below are Mahoning Valley Sanitary District's.
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: atrazine in 3 of 12 samples, highest 0.21 µg/L (limit 3); barium in 3 of 4 samples, highest 13 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: alachlor in 12 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 | 12 | 3 of 12 | 0.21 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 12 | 0 of 12 | 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 | 13 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 of Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 0 of 1,745 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Girard City tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 207 did.
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 Girard City buys its water from Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, a system that adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, which treats the water Girard City buys.
Measured fluoride: 1.01 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, which supplies Girard City, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.87 to 1.12 mg/L across 4 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 Girard City, 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
The water Girard City buys is treated by Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, so the results below are Mahoning Valley Sanitary District's.
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 2 times in 220 raw-water samples, across 2 bloom seasons (2021 to 2023); the highest raw-water result was 0.335 µg/L on November 9, 2021. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (78 samples).
In all, 298 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 220 | 2 | 0.335 µg/L |
| Treated water | 78 | 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 Girard City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $692 a year, about $58 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $451 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $357 | $225 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $692 | $451 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $1,053 | $721 |
The survey lists it as “Girard”. 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 Girard City 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 13,557 residents are inside the boundary, 96% of the 14,122 people Girard 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 — 6 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 OH7801103 (EPA ECHO).
Girard City's own pages: vindyarchives.com, meanderwater.org
Notable facts: meanderwater.org, cityofgirardoh.gov, tribtoday.com, vindy.com
History: meanderwater.org, dam.assets.ohio.gov, vindy.com, tribtoday.com
Water quality: cityofgirardoh.gov
Planned work: vindy.com, tribtoday.com
Water pressure: cityofgirardoh.gov, cityofgirardoh.gov
Capital projects: dam.assets.ohio.gov, meanderwater.org
Rates: tribtoday.com, cityofgirardoh.gov
Sewers: dam.assets.ohio.gov, cityofgirardoh.gov
Treatment: cityofgirardoh.gov, meanderwater.org, cityofgirardoh.gov
Supply stress: cityofgirardoh.gov, vindy.com
