Water system
Lebanon City
EPA ID OH8304112 · Warren County · 20,700 people served · owned by a local government
Lebanon City buys its water from Cincinnati Public Water System.
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer
- Water bodies
- Ohio River
- Raw intakes
- Cincinnati Miller Ohio River
Cincinnati Miller Ohio River S - Active wells
- 13
- Serves
- 750,200 people · Hamilton County
- EPA ID
- OH3102612
About this area's water
Did you know
- Lebanon hasn't treated a drop of its own drinking water since October 2012, when city and Cincinnati officials turned a valve together to start a 40-year, up-to-7-million-gallons-a-day wholesale deal.
- The pipeline that made that possible -- 40,000 feet of water main plus a new pump station -- was built starting in fall 2010 and finished three months ahead of schedule.
- Lebanon tap water is a blend: about 88% Ohio River water filtered through granular activated carbon at Cincinnati's Miller plant, about 12% groundwater lime-softened at the Bolton plant from a Great Miami Aquifer well…
- GCWW was the first water utility in the nation to use granular activated carbon with on-site reactivation, and it added UV disinfection after sand filtration and GAC.
- Buying its water didn't make Lebanon a bystander: the city still owns and maintains about 110 miles of pipe, four booster stations and four water towers for roughly 7,300 accounts, and ran over 1,000 of its own water…
History5
- 2004The City of Lebanon established its stormwater utility to address a backlog of stormwater infrastructure needs and comply with EPA-mandated stormwater quality requirements.
- fall 2010Construction began on 40,000 feet of water main and a new pump station to bring Greater Cincinnati Water Works water from the Richard Miller Treatment Plant to Lebanon; it finished three months ahead…
- October 23…Officials from Lebanon and GCWW turned the valve together to celebrate the start of water service and the regional partnership. GCWW agreed to provide up to 7 million gallons a day for 40 years.…
- 2025Lebanon drew water through its emergency backup connection with Warren County during the year, alongside its GCWW supply. Lebanon and GCWW both held unconditional Ohio EPA licenses and were in…
- January 1…Current water, sewer and stormwater rate schedule took effect.
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Lebanon does not treat its own drinking water; it purchases finished potable water wholesale from Greater Cincinnati Water Works. GCWW's supply is a blend of Ohio River surface water treated at the Richard Miller Treatment Plant (about 88% of GCWW's water) and groundwater from the Bolton Well Field…
Source: lebanonohio.govcincinnati-oh.govlebanonohio.gov
Water pressure
Not published.
What it costs
$6.92 per 1,000 gallons
Typical household bill about $39 a month for water.
Effective January 1, 2026. Inside the corporation limits, the water minimum covers the first 2,500 gallons and is set by meter size, from $21.71 (5/8-inch) up to $3,044.45…
Source: lebanonohio.govlebanonohio.gov
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Lebanon distribution system; range 26.4-68.4 ppb. The highest single result is within 15% of the MCL, the sharpest… | 51.65 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Lebanon distribution system; range 0-12.6 ppb. | 9.475 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Chlorine, Total Lebanon distribution system; range 0.65-0.91 ppm. | 0.91 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 30 samples over the action level; Lebanon reports no lead or galvanized service lines requiring replacement. | 1.2 ppb | 15 (AL) | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 30 samples over the action level. | 0.025 ppm | 1.3 (AL) | 2025 |
| Fluoride GCWW Miller (Ohio River) plant water; range 0.65-1.06 ppm. Bolton plant water was 0.86 ppm, range 0.3-1.0. | 0.88 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Nitrate GCWW Miller plant water; range 0.48-1.10 ppm. Bolton plant water was 1.25 ppm. | 1.1 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Barium GCWW Miller plant water. Bolton plant water was 0.01 ppm. | 0.03 ppm | 2 | 2025 |
| Turbidity GCWW Miller plant; range 0.04-0.16 NTU, and 100% of monthly samples met the limit. | 0.16 NTU | 1 (TT max; 0.3… | 2025 |
| Total Organic Carbon GCWW Miller plant; range 1.88-3.32. A value above 1 means the TOC removal requirement was met. | 3.32 removal… | TT (ratio must… | 2025 |
Source: lebanonohio.govlebanonohio.gov
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 1.2 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
EPA compliance record · Cincinnati Public Water System (treats the water)
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 2.1 ppb in 2026 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
Projects & plans3
Planned or needed
- Aeration improvements at the wastewater treatment plant · 2026-2027 · planned
Carried on both the 2026 and 2027 Lebanon City Council goals under Improve Infrastructure & Facilities. No cost published. - Sewer System Master Plan update · 2026-2027 · planned
Listed in the 2026 council goals as an update and again in 2027. No cost published. - Water main replacements in conjunction with the road program · 2026-2027 · planned
Part of the city's aggressive water-main replacement program for aging infrastructure, executed alongside annual paving. Cost is carried in the CIP, which was…
Supply stress
Lebanon's source is not stressed. It draws on GCWW, which serves more than 1.1 million people, produces about 133 million gallons a day and can treat up to 280 million, from the Ohio River plus the Great Miami Aquifer. Lebanon's own exposure is contractual and structural rather than hydrologic: its wholesale agreement is capped at 7 MGD…
Sewers
Sanitary
The City of Lebanon operates its own sanitary collection system and wastewater treatment plant. The collection system is more than 100 miles of sanitary sewer main, 14 miles of sanitary force main and seven pump stations. Aeration improvements at the WWTP and an update of the Sewer System Master Plan are on the 2026 and 2027 council goal…
Storm
Lebanon runs a separate stormwater utility, established in 2004 to address a backlog of stormwater infrastructure needs and to comply with EPA-mandated stormwater quality requirements. It maintains 92 miles of storm sewer main. Residential customers pay a…
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
- 45036 · Lebanon47% 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
Lebanon City buys its water from Cincinnati Public Water System.
No other system is on record buying water from Lebanon City.
What the records show about Lebanon City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Lebanon City as owned by a local government. It has 7,848 service connections and serves 20,700 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 513-228-3701.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Lebanon City buys water that Cincinnati Public Water System treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Cincinnati Public Water System: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, granular activated carbon, lime softening, powdered activated carbon, and sand or media filtration.
Lebanon City adds nothing of its own on that table.
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 Lebanon City since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Lebanon 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 2025, the 90th-percentile lead result at Lebanon City was 1.2 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 1.4 ppb, in the period ending December 2018.
EPA has 9 sampling periods on file for Lebanon 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 Lebanon City sent EPA, 7,338 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 3 |
| Not lead | 7,335 |
| All lines | 7,338 |
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 Lebanon City in 2024 to 2025 and measured 29 PFAS.
PFOA and PFOS were not detected, against a federal limit of 4 ng/L each.
The highest PFAS result was PFPeA 4.5 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 2 plants of Cincinnati Public Water System (latest sample March 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 2 plants of Cincinnati Public Water System as sampled, most recently August 2026.
| Compound | Highest result | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA | not detected | 4 ng/L |
| PFOS | not detected | 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 Lebanon City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 45.3 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 48.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 84.8 µg/L, from 115 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 8.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 11.5 µg/L and the highest single sample was 21.2 µg/L, from 115 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 45.3 µg/L (2019) | 48.3 µg/L | 84.8 µg/L | 115 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 8.5 µg/L | 11.5 µg/L | 21.2 µg/L | 115 |
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 Lebanon City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati Public Water System's.
Nitrate: the highest of 119 samples was 1.55 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2015; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 1.3 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 16 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 119 | 1.55 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 16 | 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.
EPA's file lumps the entry-point samples of all 2 plants of Cincinnati Public Water System together, so a result over a limit may come from a plant that serves a different part of town.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water of Cincinnati Public Water System.
Solvents and fuels
The water Lebanon City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati Public Water System'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 11 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | 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 Cincinnati Public Water System.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Lebanon City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati Public Water System's.
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: barium in 16 of 16 samples, highest 54 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 11 samples, alachlor in 11 samples, chromium in 16 samples, cadmium in 16 samples, mercury in 16 samples, selenium in 16 samples, thallium in 16 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 11 | 0 of 11 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 16 | 16 of 16 | 54 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 16 | 0 of 16 | not detected | 0 |
Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
EPA's file lumps the entry-point samples of all 2 plants of Cincinnati Public Water System together, so a result over a limit may come from a plant that serves a different part of town.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water of Cincinnati Public Water System.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 10 of 1,939 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Lebanon City tested positive (0.52%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 245 did. E. coli was found in 1 of 1,730 samples 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 Lebanon City buys its water from Cincinnati Public Water System, 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 Cincinnati Public Water System, which treats the water Lebanon City buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.81 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Cincinnati Public Water System, which supplies Lebanon City, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.79 to 0.98 mg/L across 16 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 Lebanon 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
The water Lebanon City buys is treated by Cincinnati Public Water System, so the results below are Cincinnati Public Water System'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 288 raw-water samples, across 1 bloom season (2019); the highest raw-water result was 0.46 µg/L on October 2, 2019. There has been no raw-water detection since 2024.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (285 samples).
In all, 573 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 288 | 2 | 0.46 µg/L |
| Treated water | 285 | 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 Lebanon City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $437 a year, about $36 a month.
The sewer bill in the same survey is $418 a year at 5,000 gallons a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $243 | $247 |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $437 | $418 |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $670 | $622 |
The survey lists it as “Lebanon”. 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 Lebanon 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 19,138 residents are inside the boundary, 92% of the 20,700 people Lebanon 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 OH8304112 (EPA ECHO).
Lebanon City's own pages: cincinnati-oh.gov, cincinnati-oh.gov
Notable facts: cincinnati-oh.gov, lebanonohio.gov, cincinnati-oh.gov, lebanonohio.gov
History: cincinnati-oh.gov, lebanonohio.gov, lebanonohio.gov, lebanonohio.gov
Water quality: lebanonohio.gov, lebanonohio.gov
Planned work: cms8.revize.com, cms8.revize.com, lebanonohio.gov
Rates: lebanonohio.gov, lebanonohio.gov
Sewers: lebanonohio.gov, lebanonohio.gov, lebanonohio.gov, lebanonohio.gov
Treatment: lebanonohio.gov, cincinnati-oh.gov, lebanonohio.gov
Supply stress: cincinnati-oh.gov, lebanonohio.gov, cincinnati-oh.gov
