Water system
Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200
EPA ID OH8704203 · Wood County · 9,629 people served · owned by a local government
Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys its water from Oregon City.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie
- Raw intakes
- Lake Erie
- Serves
- 19,950 people · Lucas County
- EPA ID
- OH4800911
About this area's water
Did you know
- Northwood gets its water two different ways depending on which side of town you live on: the west end from the City of Toledo, the east end from Oregon by way of this district.
- The water arrives from a crib sitting completely submerged 16 feet down and 1.5 miles off the Lake Erie shore, drawn through a 48-inch line to a pump station near Anchor Point Marina, then pushed 5 miles through 36-inch…
- Treatment starts before the water has gone anywhere: potassium permanganate is dosed right at the lake intake to stop zebra and quagga mussels from colonizing the conduit.
- This district resells water but treats none of it - the entire Waterline 200 system is a distribution network hanging off one 1963 municipal plant in a neighboring county.
- Millbury, one of this system's two anchor towns, was hit by an EF4 tornado in 2010.
History4
- 1963The City of Oregon builds its Lake Erie water treatment plant - the plant that still supplies this district's Waterline 200.
- 1993Wood County Common Pleas Judge Charles Kurfess approves formation of what is now The Northwestern Water & Sewer District (originally the Wood County Regional Water and Sewer District), chartered…
- 1994The district begins operations on January 1, taking over the water and sewer operations of the Wood County Sanitary Engineer.
- 2001-2005Oregon completes a five-phase expansion of the plant to 16 MGD: Phase 1 adds 8 MGD of filter capacity and a high-pressure pump (Sept 2001); Phase 2 adds a chemical building and 4 MGD of flocculation…
Source: nwwsd.orgoregonohio.org
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
The district treats none of its own water - Waterline 200 buys finished water wholesale from the City of Oregon. Oregon's plant (built 1963, expanded to 16 MGD, 667,000 gallons per hour) draws from a fully submerged intake crib in Lake Erie near Reno Beach, 1.5 miles offshore in 16 feet of water…
Source: oregonohio.orgnwwsd.org
Water pressure
Not published. Neither the district's Waterline 200 CCR nor the City of Oregon's water plant page gives a distribution pressure, psi range, or pressure-zone map. The only…
Source: oregonohio.orgnwwsd.org
What it costs
Typical household bill about $45 a month for water.
The district publishes an average bill rather than a plain volumetric rate. For 2026 its rates page puts the average residential customer using 7,500 gallons a month at $45.34 for…
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Range 36.2-66.1 ppb, sampled in the district's own distribution system. Comfortably compliant but the highest-loaded… | 61.9 ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 9.6-16.2 ppb; district distribution samples. | 13.8 ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Total Chlorine Range 0.60-1.05 ppm; district distribution samples. | 0.82 ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 21 samples above the action level. The district publishes its service line inventory as a downloadable spreadsheet. | <4 ppb | 15 (AL) | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 21 samples above the action level. | 0.024 ppm | 1.3 (AL) | 2025 |
| Fluoride Range 0.50-1.21 ppm, measured at the City of Oregon plant; Oregon fluoridates. | 1.21 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| Nitrate Range ND-3.52 ppm at the Oregon plant - the highest nitrate in this batch, consistent with a western Lake Erie intake… | 3.52 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| Barium Measured at the Oregon plant. | 0.01 ppm | 2 | 2025 |
| Turbidity Oregon plant's highest 2025 result; 100% of monthly samples met the limit. | 0.25 NTU | TT (0.3 NTU in… | 2025 |
| Total Organic Carbon (removal ratio) Lowest running annual average of TOC removed versus TOC required; range 2.54-4.12. Above 1.0 means compliance. | 2.54 ratio | TT (must exceed… | 2025 |
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA health-based violations since 2015:
- 2015Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) · above the legal limit on average · measured 0.1 MG/L (limit 0.08 MG/L) · returned to compliance
EPA's count of 4 includes 3 repeat quarterly violations of the problems listed.
EPA compliance record · Oregon City (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.
2 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 2 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
Projects & plans1
Recent and current work
- Northwood Farnstead Waterline Replacement · $978,000 · 2025 · completed
District project investment of $978,000 in Northwood, one of this system's two anchor towns, including meter pit installation. The district's project update…
Source: nwwsd.org
Supply stress
Western Lake Erie, and the district's own CCR is unusually blunt about it. All surface waters are considered susceptible; for the Oregon intake specifically the CCR lists accidental spills and releases from commercial shipping and recreational boating, sediments from river dredging disposal, air contaminant deposition, point and nonpoint…
Source: nwwsd.org
Sewers
Sanitary
The district provides sanitary sewer across parts of this service area alongside the water it resells. Its recent project list includes sanitary sewer improvements and manhole repairs throughout the Village of Millbury and sewer maintenance on East Broadway Street between Walbridge and Wales Roads in Northwood and Perrysburg/Lake…
Storm
Not published. The district is a water and sanitary sewer utility; no stormwater utility, MS4 permit or storm sewer information for Northwood or Millbury was found on district or municipal sources.
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Main supplier in 2 ZIP codes
Serves
Main water supplier in 3 ZIP codes
- 43619 · Northwood77% of residents
- 43447 · Lake Township and Millbury71% of residents
- 43412 · Jerusalem Township and Curtice2% of residents
Also present in 3 more ZIP codes
- 43430 · Genoa2% of residents
- 43465 · Walbridge2% of residents
- 43551 · Perrysburg0% 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
Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys its water from Oregon City.
No other system is on record buying water from Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200.
What the records show about Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 as owned by a local government. It has 2,867 service connections and serves 9,629 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 419-354-9090.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys water that Oregon City treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Oregon City: corrosion control, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, granular activated carbon, lime softening, ozone, and powdered activated carbon.
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 4 health-based violations for Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 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 4 includes 3 repeat entries of the problems listed.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 since 2020.
| Year | Contaminant or rule | Kind | Measured | Limit | Status in EPA's record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | above the legal limit on average | 0.1 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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 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 4 ppb, in the period ending December 2022.
EPA has 9 sampling periods on file for Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 sent EPA, 2,978 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 564 |
| Not lead | 2,414 |
| All lines | 2,978 |
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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 in 2023 and measured 29 PFAS.
PFOA and PFOS were not detected, against a federal limit of 4 ng/L each.
The highest PFAS result was PFHxA 3.1 ng/L.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Oregon City (latest sample August 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 Oregon City as sampled, most recently October 2023.
| 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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 61.9 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 84.6 µg/L and the highest single sample was 169 µg/L, from 97 samples taken from 2012 to 2019. A yearly average over 80 is not itself a violation, because compliance is judged site by site.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 16.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 20.7 µg/L and the highest single sample was 36 µg/L, from 60 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 61.9 µg/L (2019) | 84.6 µg/L | 169 µg/L | 97 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 16.5 µg/L | 20.7 µg/L | 36 µg/L | 60 |
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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys is treated by Oregon City, so the results below are Oregon City's.
Nitrate: the highest of 96 samples was 5.02 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2016; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 4.45 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 | 5.02 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 of Oregon City.
Solvents and fuels
The water Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys is treated by Oregon City, so the results below are Oregon City'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 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 of Oregon City.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys is treated by Oregon City, so the results below are Oregon City's.
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: atrazine in 15 of 38 samples, highest 0.94 µg/L (limit 3); barium in 8 of 8 samples, highest 12 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: alachlor in 38 samples, chromium in 8 samples, cadmium 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 | 38 | 15 of 38 | 0.94 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 38 | 0 of 38 | 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 | 12 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 of Oregon City.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 0 of 956 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 120 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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys its water from Oregon City, 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 Oregon City, which treats the water Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.86 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Oregon City, which supplies Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.83 to 1.02 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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200, last sampled in 2023 (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 Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 buys is treated by Oregon City, so the results below are Oregon City'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 93 times in 293 raw-water samples, across 11 bloom seasons (2016 to 2026); the highest raw-water result was 25 µg/L on August 30, 2017. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 5.05 µg/L.
In treated water, microcystin was detected 1 time; the highest result was 0.387 µg/L (July 2026), above the 0.3 µg/L level for children under six.
In all, 502 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 18, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 293 | 93 | 25 µg/L |
| Treated water | 209 | 1 | 0.387 µg/L |
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
The service area drawn on the map for Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 8,378 residents are inside the boundary, 87% of the 9,629 people Northwestern W and SD - Oregon Wtln 200 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 OH8704203 (EPA ECHO).
Notable facts: en.wikipedia.org, oregonohio.org, en.wikipedia.org
History: nwwsd.org, oregonohio.org
Water quality: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org
Water pressure: oregonohio.org, nwwsd.org
Capital projects: nwwsd.org
Sewers: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org, en.wikipedia.org, nwwsd.org
Treatment: oregonohio.org, nwwsd.org
Supply stress: nwwsd.org