Water system
Van Wert City
EPA ID OH8100611 · Van Wert County · 10,846 people served · owned by a local government
Van Wert City treats its own water from Town Creek via two impounding reservoirs.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Town Creek, Reservoir 1 North, Reservoir 2/3 South
- Raw intakes
- Town Creek
Reservoir - Serves
- 10,846 people · Van Wert County
- EPA ID
- OH8100611
About this area's water
Did you know
- Van Wert has taken its drinking water from the same stream, Town Creek, since 1891 — the water department is older than the automobile.
- The two reservoirs hold about 1.01 billion gallons, roughly 21 months of supply on paper and 15-16 months in practice once you subtract the bottom two feet and evaporation.
- Two pump stations east of the reservoirs can move 48.96 million gallons a day with all eight pumps running — but they only run when Town Creek is high enough, which was 172 days in 2023.
- Town Creek's recorded annual flow since 1951 has swung from 180 million to 1.26 billion gallons, a seven-fold range the reservoirs exist to absorb.
- Potassium permanganate is the first chemical added, purely to knock out bad taste and odor before coagulation begins.
Source: vanwert.orgvanwert.org
History6
- 1891Van Wert Water Department began supplying drinking water to the city, drawing from Town Creek — the same source it uses today.
- 2013In February the plant began feeding a filter aid into the treatment train to cut turbidity passing through the sand filters.
- 2023Ohio EPA placed Van Wert under Findings and Orders after total trihalomethanes exceeded the 80 ppb standard for four consecutive quarters; the city retained Veolia North America and issued MCL…
- 2023Council approved a 10% water-only rate increase (sewer unchanged), worth about $1.80 a month on a minimum bill.
- 2024On March 22 the city distributed a Tier 3 monitoring violation notice: no raw-water cyanobacteria screening sample was collected during the 6/25/23-7/8/23 period.
- 2025A second 10% water rate increase took effect March 1, driven by the THM problem, an ODNR-mandated reservoir inundation study, and inflation; it was expected to raise about $230,000 a year.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Town Creek water is pumped into two on-site impounding reservoirs, then treated at the city plant: potassium permanganate for taste and odor, lime and ferric chloride coagulation/sedimentation in clarifiers (with lime softening as a side benefit), fluoride and carbon dioxide for pH stabilization…
Source: vanwert.orgvanwert.org
Water pressure
No system-wide psi figure is published. The distribution system runs on pumps at the plant feeding about 70 miles of water main, with two elevated towers (400,000 and 500,000…
Source: vanwert.orgvanwert.org
What it costs
$8.32 per 1,000 gallons
Typical household bill about $31 a month for water.
2026 in-town monthly schedule: water minimum $14.04 covers 0-227 cubic feet, then $62.23 per 1,000 cf for the next 5,773 cf, declining through four blocks to $27.01 per 1,000 cf…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) MCL VIOLATION. Public notice distributed June 13, 2025 for the 2nd-quarter 2025 monitoring period; the city blamed an… | 82 ppb | 80 (MCL… | 2025 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) MCL VIOLATION in 1Q, 2Q and 3Q 2023; range 27.4-99.8 ppb. Four-quarter averages ran 0.081-0.094 mg/L across sampling… | 94.25 ppb | 80 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 13.6-32.5 ppb; no violation. | 29.80 ppb | 60 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 31 samples above the action level; lead detected in 5 of 31 sites, range <0.6-7.2 ppb. | 1.5 ppb | 15 (action… | 2023 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 31 samples above the action level; range 0.010-0.216 ppm. | 0.171 ppm | 1.3 (action… | 2023 |
| Nitrate Maximum; range 0.22-2.42 ppm. Fertilizer runoff and natural deposits. | 2.42 ppm | 10 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Fluoride Maximum; range 0.86-1.13 ppm. Added at the plant. | 1.13 ppm | 4 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Atrazine Runoff from row-crop herbicide — a real signal for a farmland surface-water supply, but well under the limit. | 0.36 ppb | 3 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Arsenic Erosion of natural deposits. | 0.9 ppb | 10 (MCL) | 2023 |
| Turbidity Highest single reading, in September; 98.3% of samples met the standard in the worst month, so no violation. Annual… | 0.66 NTU | 0.30 in 95% of… | 2023 |
Source: vanwert.orgvanwert.org
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2025Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.084 MG/L (limit 0.08 MG/L) · returned to compliance
- 2023Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.094 MG/L (limit 0.08 MG/L) · returned to compliance
- 2022Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.086 MG/L (limit 0.08 MG/L) · returned to compliance
EPA's count of 7 includes 4 repeat quarterly violations of the problems listed.
13 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 4 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); 7 health-based.
Projects & plans3
Recent and current work
- Water tower mixers · 2026 · completed
Mixers installed in the elevated tanks to cut water age; the city reports improved chlorine residual stability across the distribution system. Cost not…
Source: thevwindependent.com
Planned or needed
- TTHM reduction project — sluice gate replacement on the reservoir structures · $2.1 million · 2026 · planned
Ohio EPA approved the plan in 2026; council passed an ordinance in July 2026 letting the safety-service director seek bids and award contracts. Work expected… - Reservoir dam inundation study · $50,000 · 2023 · planned
Mandated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources; projected to exceed $50,000. Models breach scenarios and the resulting impact on infrastructure and…
Source: thevwindependent.comthevwindependent.comthevwindependent.com
Supply stress
Van Wert is a small surface-water supply with real storage behind it. The two impounding reservoirs hold about 1.01 billion gallons — the city puts that at roughly 21 months of theoretical supply, or 15-16 months once the unusable bottom two feet and evaporation are subtracted. Refill depends entirely on Town Creek: two pump stations…
Source: vanwert.orgvanwert.org
Sewers
Sanitary
The city runs its own wastewater treatment plant and collection system. Ohio EPA NPDES permit 2PD00006 identifies the works at 7998 S.R. 127 N. discharging to Town Creek at river mile 13.87. Sewer is billed monthly on the same bill as water: $13.11…
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
- 45891 · Van Wert72% 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
Van Wert 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 Van Wert City.
What the records show about Van Wert City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Van Wert City as owned by a local government. It has 4,946 service connections and serves 10,846 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 419-238-1237.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Van Wert City: 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 counts 7 health-based violations for Van Wert City since 2015. Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a required treatment step not carried out. They fall into 3 separate problems (one contaminant or rule in one year); the table lists them all.
EPA logs a violation for each compliance period a problem lasts, so the count of 7 includes 4 repeat entries of the problems listed.
EPA logs 13 violations of any kind since 2020: 4 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); 7 health-based.
| Year | Contaminant or rule | Kind | Measured | Limit | Status in EPA's record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | above the legal limit on average | 0.084 mg/L | 0.08 mg/L | returned to compliance |
| 2023 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | above the legal limit on average | 0.094 mg/L | 0.08 mg/L | returned to compliance |
| 2022 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | above the legal limit on average | 0.086 mg/L | 0.08 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 Van Wert 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 1.5 ppb, in the period ending December 2023.
EPA has 6 sampling periods on file for Van Wert 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 Van Wert City sent EPA, 5,080 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 7 |
| Unknown material | 1,965 |
| Not lead | 3,108 |
| All lines | 5,080 |
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 5 samples of the water entering the pipes of Van Wert City in 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 Van Wert City (latest sample September 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 Van Wert City as sampled, most recently December 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 Van Wert City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 47.4 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 60 µg/L and the highest single sample was 113.4 µg/L, from 128 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 30.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 35.1 µg/L and the highest single sample was 76.7 µg/L, from 128 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 47.4 µg/L (2019) | 60 µg/L | 113.4 µg/L | 128 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 30.2 µg/L | 35.1 µg/L | 76.7 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
Nitrate: the highest of 95 samples was 6 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2016; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.06 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) | 95 | 6 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 6 of 24 samples, highest 0.92 µg/L (limit 3). Not detected: alachlor in 24 samples, chromium in 8 samples, cadmium in 8 samples, barium in 8 samples, mercury in 8 samples, selenium in 8 samples, thallium in 8 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 24 | 6 of 24 | 0.92 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 24 | 0 of 24 | 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 | 0 of 8 | not detected | 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 1,012 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Van Wert City tested positive (0.1%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 121 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 Van Wert City adjusts the fluoride level to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.
EPA's treatment table lists fluoridation among the steps at Van Wert City.
Measured fluoride: 1.09 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.94 to 1.22 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 Van Wert 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 3 times in 223 raw-water samples, across 2 bloom seasons (2018 to 2025); the highest raw-water result was 0.352 µg/L on October 28, 2025. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 0.352 µg/L.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (97 samples).
In all, 320 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 223 | 3 | 0.352 µg/L |
| Treated water | 97 | 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 Van Wert City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $412 a year, about $34 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $489 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $205 | $158 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $412 | $489 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $659 | $886 |
The survey lists it as “Van Wert”. 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 Van Wert 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 11,216 residents are inside the boundary, 103% of the 10,846 people Van Wert 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 OH8100611 (EPA ECHO).
Van Wert City's own pages: vanwert.org
Notable facts: vanwert.org, vanwert.org
History: vanwert.org, thevwindependent.com, thevwindependent.com, thevwindependent.com
Water quality: vanwert.org, vanwert.org
Planned work: thevwindependent.com, thevwindependent.com, thevwindependent.com
Water pressure: vanwert.org, vanwert.org
Capital projects: thevwindependent.com
Rates: vanwert.org, vanwert.org, thevwindependent.com, thevwindependent.com
Sewers: dam.assets.ohio.gov, vanwert.org, thevwindependent.com
Treatment: vanwert.org, vanwert.org
Supply stress: vanwert.org, vanwert.org
