Water system
Newton Falls City
EPA ID OH7802311 · Trumbull County · 6,109 people served · owned by a local government
Newton Falls City treats its own water from East Branch Mahoning River.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- East Branch Mahoning River
- Raw intakes
- Newton Falls Branch Mahonin
- Serves
- 6,109 people · Trumbull County
- EPA ID
- OH7802311
About this area's water
Did you know
- The Newton Falls Covered Bridge, built in 1831, is the second oldest existing covered bridge in Ohio, the oldest covered bridge in the state still in use on its original site, the only one in Ohio with a covered…
- Newton Falls has one of the most distinctive ZIP codes in the country: 44444.
- The city is named for two sets of waterfalls within the village, each on a different branch of the Mahoning River — and the water plant draws from the East Branch.
- Newton Falls is a wholesaler as well as a retailer: it sells water through a master meter to the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineers' Braceville Township system, and holds emergency-only interconnections with Lordstown…
History4
- 1831The Newton Falls Covered Bridge is built over the Mahoning River — a 123-foot, 24-foot-wide Town lattice truss; a covered walkway was added in 1921-22.
- unknownThe city takes its name from two sets of waterfalls within the village, each on a different branch of the Mahoning River; the water plant's intake sits on the East Branch.
- 2023After the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineers' Braceville Township PWS had a master-meter sample exceed the MCL for HAA5 and/or TTHM, Newton Falls began quarterly disinfection byproduct sampling at…
- 2025UCMR 5 sampling each quarter found PFAS above Ohio EPA revised action levels; the city stated it has added proposed actions and engineering for removal to its capital improvement plan.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Raw water is pumped from the East Branch of the Mahoning River directly to the plant, drawn through an intake on the western bank at the corner of Starr Street and Riverside Drive in Newton Township. Treatment consists of flocculation, two-stage sedimentation, fluoridation, filtration and…
Source: ci.newtonfalls.oh.usci.newtonfalls.oh.usci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Water pressure
Not published. Neither the water treatment page, the water distribution page, nor the 2025 CCR gives system pressure or pressure-zone figures.
Source: ci.newtonfalls.oh.usci.newtonfalls.oh.usci.newtonfalls.oh.us
What it costs
Not published. The city's Utility Billing & Payments page covers billing procedures, payment methods and assistance programs but carries no rate schedule, and a site search…
Source: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 33.7-63.7 ppb — about 76% of the MCL, the system's tightest compliance margin. Running annual average basis. | 60.45 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 6.7-39.1 ppb, running annual average basis. | 37.3 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| PFOA UCMR 5 entry-point average, range <0.004 to 0.0067 ppb. Equivalent to 4.6 ng/L, above the 4 ng/L federal MCL; the city… | 0.0046 ppb | 0.004 (federal… | 2025 |
| PFOS UCMR 5 entry-point average, range <0.004 to 0.0056 ppb — 4.4 ng/L, above the 4 ng/L federal MCL. | 0.0044 ppb | 0.004 (federal… | 2025 |
| PFBS UCMR 5 entry-point average, range 0.041-0.22 ppb — the largest PFAS detection by concentration. PFBA (0.0086), PFPeA… | 0.098 ppb | none (UCMR 5) | 2025 |
| Nitrate Range 0.10-2.08 ppm; runoff from fertilizer use and leaching from septic tanks or sewage. | 2.08 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Fluoride Range 0.83-1.20 ppm; consistent with the plant's published fluoridation step. | 1.05 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) Zero of twenty-three samples exceeded the action level. A service line inventory is posted for download on the city… | 0 ppb | 15 (AL) | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) Zero of twenty-three samples exceeded the action level. | 0.093 ppm | 1.3 (AL) | 2025 |
| Barium Discharge of drilling wastes and from metal refineries; erosion of natural deposits. | 0.044 ppm | 2 | 2025 |
Source: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2017Haloacetic acids (HAA5) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.062 MG/L (limit 0.06 MG/L) · returned to compliance
EPA's count of 2 includes 1 repeat quarterly violation of the problems listed.
Projects & plans1
Planned or needed
- PFAS removal — engineering and proposed actions in the capital improvement plan · 2027 · planned
After UCMR 5 sampling in 2025 found PFAS above Ohio EPA revised action levels, the city states it has included proposed actions and engineering for future…
Source: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Supply stress
The 2025 CCR reports that all surface waters are considered susceptible to contamination for source water assessment purposes, and that the Newton Falls protection area is specifically 'highly susceptible' to: agricultural runoff from row crop agriculture; oil and gas wells; failing home and commercial septic systems; spills and releases…
Sewers
Sanitary
Not published. The city publishes no wastewater treatment plant description, capacity, collection system detail, or sewer rate.
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
- 44444 · Newton Falls55% 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
Newton Falls City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
1 system on record buys water from Newton Falls City: Trumbull Co. - Braceville Twp.
What the records show about Newton Falls City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Newton Falls City as owned by a local government. It has 2,619 service connections and serves 6,109 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 330-872-0806.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Newton Falls City: 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 counts 2 health-based violations for Newton Falls City since 2015. Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a required treatment step not carried out. They fall into 1 separate problem (one contaminant or rule in one year); the table lists it.
EPA logs a violation for each compliance period a problem lasts, so the count of 2 includes 1 repeat entry of the problems listed.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Newton Falls City since 2020.
| Year | Contaminant or rule | Kind | Measured | Limit | Status in EPA's record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | above the legal limit on average | 0.062 mg/L | 0.06 mg/L | returned to compliance |
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 Newton Falls 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 6.4 ppb, in the period ending December 2020.
EPA has 7 sampling periods on file for Newton Falls 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 Newton Falls City sent EPA, 2,632 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 1 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 17 |
| Unknown material | 2,614 |
| Not lead | 0 |
| All lines | 2,632 |
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 4 samples of the water entering the pipes of Newton Falls City in 2025 and measured 29 PFAS.
The highest PFOA or PFOS result, 6.7 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 PFBS 220 ng/L, PFBA 14 ng/L, and PFHxA 14 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Newton Falls City (latest sample April 2021). The highest result was PFBS at 134 ppt (ppt is the same unit as ng/L), against Ohio's action level of 2,100 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.
| Compound | Highest result | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA | 6.7 ng/L | 4 ng/L |
| PFOS | 5.6 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 Newton Falls City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 60.7 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 71.7 µg/L and the highest single sample was 101.1 µg/L, from 64 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 41.8 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 59.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 100 µg/L, from 66 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 60.7 µg/L (2019) | 71.7 µg/L | 101.1 µg/L | 64 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 41.8 µg/L | 59.3 µg/L | 100 µg/L | 66 |
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 2.2 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2015; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.92 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 | 2.2 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: barium in 8 of 8 samples, highest 29 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 | 8 of 8 | 29 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, 1 of 793 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Newton Falls City tested positive (0.13%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 96 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 Newton Falls City adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Newton Falls City.
Measured fluoride: 1.1 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.99 to 1.2 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 Newton Falls City, 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 95 times in 294 raw-water samples, across 7 bloom seasons (2019 to 2026); the highest raw-water result was 7.13 µg/L on November 8, 2021. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 4.14 µg/L.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (200 samples).
In all, 494 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 24, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 294 | 95 | 7.13 µg/L |
| Treated water | 200 | 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
EPA estimated the service area of Newton Falls 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 5,552 residents are inside the boundary, 91% of the 6,109 people Newton Falls 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 — 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 OH7802311 (EPA ECHO).
Newton Falls City's own pages: en.wikipedia.org
Notable facts: en.wikipedia.org, ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
History: en.wikipedia.org, ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Water quality: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Planned work: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Water pressure: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us, ci.newtonfalls.oh.us, ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Rates: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Treatment: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us, ci.newtonfalls.oh.us, ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
Supply stress: ci.newtonfalls.oh.us, ci.newtonfalls.oh.us
