Water system
West Unity Village
EPA ID OH8601812 · Williams County · 1,760 people served · owned by a local government
West Unity Village treats its own water from Groundwater wells (3 wells).
The system's record
- Active wells
- 3
- Serves
- 1,760 people · Williams County
- EPA ID
- OH8601812
About this area's water
Did you know
- West Unity was platted in 1842 and incorporated in 1866, in Williams County in Ohio's far northwest corner.
- Its 2020 population of 1,763 was up about 5.5% from 1,671 in 2010, a rare growth story for a small rural Ohio village.
- The local school district, Millcreek-West Unity, calls its shared K-12 campus with Alvordton 'Hilltop' despite the village sitting at a modest 797 feet elevation on flat farmland.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
History2
- 1842Village platted and its post office opened.
- 1866West Unity formally incorporated as a village in Williams County.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Per the village's 2025 Consumer Confidence Report: water is drawn from 3 groundwater wells located at the treatment plant, supplied by a sole-source aquifer. It is treated by filtration (iron removal) and disinfected with liquid chlorine, and softened by salt softening. Two elevated overhead…
Source: drive.google.com
Water pressure
No numeric pressure (psi) figure is published; the distribution system is pressurized via two elevated overhead storage tanks (2025 CCR).
Source: drive.google.com
What it costs
No current rate schedule is published online (the village's utilities page lists only fees like a $50 shutoff/reconnect charge). A 2017 Bryan Times article (found via search…
Source: bryantimes.comsites.google.com
Water quality & impurities8
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluoride Erosion of natural deposits / water additive; no violation. | 1.03 mg/L | 4 (MCL/MCLG) | 2025 |
| Barium Discharge of drilling wastes; no violation. | 0.0248 mg/L | 2.0 | 2025 |
| Copper Corrosion of household plumbing / erosion of natural deposits; no violation. | 0.122 (range… mg/L | 1.3 (action… | 2025 |
| Lead 0 of 10 samples exceeded the action level; corrosion of household plumbing / erosion of natural deposits. | 1.8 (range… µg/L | 15 (action… | 2025 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) By-product of drinking-water chlorination; no violation. | 64.8 (range… µg/L | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) By-product of drinking-water chlorination; no violation. | 10.0 (range… µg/L | 60 | 2025 |
| Ethylbenzene Trace detection; no violation. | 0.0001 mg/L | 0.7 | 2025 |
| Total Chlorine (running average) Disinfectant residual; no violation. | 0.75 (range… mg/L | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
Source: drive.google.comdata.epa.gov
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 1.8 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
3 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 3 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
Projects & plans4
Recent and current work
- Water treatment plant electronics/software upgrade · $39,725 · 2025 · planned
Replacing aging electronics at the 17-year-old plant; roughly six-month installation timeline (Feb. 2025 council coverage). - Water softener service/replacement · 2025 · planned
Softeners underperforming; resin was to be tested to decide between ~$16,000 cleaning or ~$90,000 replacement (put out to bid). - North Main Street water line replacement · 2025 · planned
Intended to end recurrent water-main breaks on N. Main St. (a break occurred there Feb. 4, 2025); follows a completed 2024 water-line and road repair on…
Source: thevillagereporter.com
Planned or needed
- South Liberty wastewater pump station replacement · 2025 · planned
A grant application was planned per Feb. 2025 council coverage; the village's wastewater treatment plant is located at 317 South Liberty Street.
Source: thevillagereporter.com
Supply stress
Ohio EPA rates the aquifer supplying West Unity's well field as LOW susceptibility to contamination: a confining layer of glacial till over 60 feet thick overlies the sand-and-gravel aquifer, depth to water exceeds 30 feet, and water-quality results show no impact to date (2025 CCR). The village reports no lead service lines anywhere in…
Source: drive.google.com
Sewers
Sanitary
The village operates its own wastewater treatment plant at 317 South Liberty Street; a grant application to replace the South Liberty pump station was planned as of Feb. 2025.
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
- 43570 · West Unity56% 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
West Unity Village does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
No other system is on record buying water from West Unity Village.
What the records show about West Unity Village
Who runs it
EPA's record describes West Unity Village as owned by a local government. It has 805 service connections and serves 1,760 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 419-924-2215.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for West Unity Village: aeration, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, and ion-exchange softening.
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 West Unity Village since 2015.
EPA logs 3 violations of any kind since 2020: 3 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 West Unity Village was 1.8 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 4.6 ppb, in the period ending December 2022.
EPA has 9 sampling periods on file for West Unity Village 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 West Unity Village sent EPA, 717 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 715 |
| Not lead | 2 |
| All lines | 717 |
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
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of West Unity Village (latest sample July 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 West Unity Village as sampled, most recently June 2026.
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 West Unity Village's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 43 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 43 µg/L and the highest single sample was 53.7 µg/L, from 14 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 10.2 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 10.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 10.6 µg/L, from 15 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 43 µg/L (2019) | 43 µg/L | 53.7 µg/L | 14 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 10.2 µg/L | 10.2 µg/L | 10.6 µg/L | 15 |
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 was not detected in 7 samples through 2019 (limit 10 mg/L as nitrogen; 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) | 7 | not detected | 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 3 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | 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 31.8 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine, alachlor, chromium, cadmium, mercury, selenium, and thallium, in 3 samples each.
| 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 | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 3 | 1 of 3 | 31.8 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 192 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at West Unity Village tested positive (0.52%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 24 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 West Unity Village has fluoride from natural sources at the recommended level for preventing tooth decay. The level it reports is 1.05 mg/L.
EPA's treatment table lists no fluoridation step at West Unity Village.
Measured fluoride: 0.99 mg/L on average at the plant's entry points in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.95 to 1.01 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.
How well the service area is mapped
The service area drawn on the map for West Unity Village comes from the utility's own map.
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 OH8601812 (EPA ECHO).
Notable facts: en.wikipedia.org
History: en.wikipedia.org
Water quality: drive.google.com, data.epa.gov
Planned work: thevillagereporter.com
Water pressure: drive.google.com
Capital projects: thevillagereporter.com
Rates: bryantimes.com, sites.google.com
Sewers: drive.google.com, thevillagereporter.com
Treatment: drive.google.com
Supply stress: drive.google.com
