Water system
Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area
EPA ID OH8752812 · Wood County · 19,758 people served · owned by a local government
Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area buys its water from Toledo City Of.
The system's record
- Water bodies
- Lake Erie
- Raw intakes
- Toledo Lake Erie
- Serves
- 360,000 people · Lucas County
- EPA ID
- OH4801411
About this area's water
Did you know
- This service area owns not one filter, pump station intake or clarifier for treatment: 100% of its water arrives already finished from Toledo's Collins Park plant, and the district's job is transmission mains, valves…
- Collins Park is the largest water-softening plant on Lake Erie, filtering an average of about 75 million gallons a day, and it can push 181 million gallons a day at full design loading, with 70 million gallons of…
- In 2014 a mat of blue-green algae parked itself over an intake pipe built in 1942 and took drinking water away from roughly half a million people for three days.
- The district grew out of the 1993 reorganization of the Wood County Sanitary Engineer's water and sewer operations and now serves over 20,000 customers across five counties (Wood, Sandusky, Henry, Hancock and Lucas)…
- The district runs 13 'WaterShed' vending machines that dispense public drinking water, and hands out $500 WATER grants to local teachers for water-focused classroom projects.
Source: nwwsd.orgtoledo.oh.govnwwsd.org
History5
- 1993The district was established as the Wood County Regional Water and Sewer District, chartered under ORC 6119, taking over the water and sewer operations of the Wood County Sanitary Engineer…
- 1942Toledo's two-story Lake Erie water intake, the source of this service area's water, was constructed. It sits less than a mile from the City of Oregon's intake and farther offshore, beyond the normal…
- 2002The district opened its main facility on Middleton Pike in Bowling Green; it was expanded in 2013.
- 2014Collins Park operators reported an elevated microcystin sample to Ohio EPA on August 1; a harmful algal bloom had settled over the intake and finished-water microcystin reached 3.19 micrograms per…
- 4Q 2022Under OAC 3745-81-24, the Toledo Service Area triggered into mandatory disinfection-byproduct sampling at its designated master meter locations because of exceedances of the MCL and/or operational…
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
The district owns no treatment plant in this service area; it buys fully treated water from the City of Toledo and distributes it. Toledo's plant (Collins Park) draws Lake Erie surface water through a 108-inch line from a 1942 intake and treats it by coagulation, flocculation, lime softening…
Source: nwwsd.orgtoledo.oh.gov
Water pressure
Not published. No psi figure appears in the district's CCR, rate materials or project documents for the Walbridge / Stony Ridge / Luckey service area.
What it costs
$6.05 per 1,000 gallons
Typical household bill about $45 a month for water.
CAUTION: these are DISTRICT charges only. Effective January 1, 2026 the district bills an average residential customer using 7,500 gallons a month $45.34 for water (up $0.35 from…
Source: nwwsd.orgtoledo.oh.gov
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) No violation on the compliance average, but individual detections ranged 16.5-84.2 ppb, above the 80 ppb MCL at the… | 55.8 ppb | 80 ppb MCL | 2025 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Range 6.3-28.8 ppb. No violation. Master-meter LRAAs were 7.0 and 22.4 ppb. | 18.9 ppb | 60 ppb MCL | 2025 |
| Total chlorine Range 1.03-1.31 ppm. | 1.13 ppm | MRDL 4 ppm | 2025 |
| Lead (90th percentile) 0 of 31 samples exceeded the action level. | <4 ppb | 15 ppb action… | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) 0 of 31 samples exceeded the action level. | 0.023 ppm | 1.3 ppm action… | 2025 |
| Nitrate City of Toledo finished water, range <0.10-2.36 ppm. | 1.22 ppm | 10 ppm MCL | 2025 |
| Fluoride City of Toledo finished water, range 0.98-1.06 ppm. | 1.00 ppm | 4 ppm MCL | 2025 |
| Turbidity Highest Toledo result; 100% of monthly samples met the limit. | 0.23 NTU | TT: 0.3 NTU in… | 2025 |
| PFOA UCMR5 sampling of Toledo finished water; average 1.2 ppt, well under the 2024 federal MCL. | 0.0012 ppb | 4.0 ppt (0.004… | 2025 |
| PFOS UCMR5 sampling of Toledo finished water; average 1.0 ppt, under the federal MCL. | 0.0010 ppb | 4.0 ppt (0.004… | 2025 |
Source: nwwsd.org
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 0 ppb in 2025 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
EPA compliance record · Toledo City Of (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.
Projects & plans5
Recent and current work
- WL-100/101 Valve Improvements · 2025-2026 · under construction
Replacement or rehabilitation of valves and appurtenances on the district's 20-inch and 30-inch prestressed concrete cylinder pipe transmission water mains in… - 100 Area Water Line Improvements (Oregon Road and Sheffield Place) · 2025 · completed
Water line improvements in the district's 100 area. No cost published. - Tracy Road Waterline Replacement (Florence Ave. to Wales Rd.) · 2024 · completed
Waterline replacement in the Northwood/Walbridge corridor; a 2026 update shows continuing waterline work closing Tracy Road from Wales Road to McNerney Drive.…
Source: nwwsd.orgnwwsd.orgnwwsd.org
Planned or needed
- Water service line material identification excavations · 2026 · under construction
District crews excavating to identify water service line materials in Northwood, Rossford, Weston, McComb and McClure under the federal Lead and Copper Rule… - Belmont Area Water Main Improvements (WL#146) · 2026 · planned
Listed on the district's 2026 project page. Outside the immediate Walbridge/Stony Ridge/Luckey area; no cost or schedule published.
Supply stress
Western Lake Erie is the district's single point of failure. Ohio EPA treats all surface waters as susceptible by nature, and the Toledo intake's critical assessment zone is specifically identified as vulnerable to spills from commercial shipping and recreational boating, river dredging disposal sediments, air deposition, point and…
Sewers
Sanitary
The district owns and operates the sanitary collection system in this service area but does not treat the wastewater. Sewage from Rossford, Walbridge, Northwood, Ottawa Hills and several townships goes to the City of Toledo's Bay View Water Reclamation Plant, which reached a peak hydraulic capacity of 400 million gallons per day after…
Storm
We found no public record of a district stormwater utility, fee or combined-sewer detail for the Walbridge, Stony Ridge or Luckey area. Toledo charges its own city residents $3.80 a month for single-family stormwater, but that applies inside…
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Main supplier in 3 ZIP codes
Serves
Main water supplier in 4 ZIP codes
- 43463 · Troy Township and Stony Ridge100% of residents
- 43443 · Luckey97% of residents
- 43465 · Walbridge95% of residents
- 43460 · Rossford8% of residents
Also present in 6 more ZIP codes
- 43551 · Perrysburg22% of residents
- 43447 · Lake Township and Millbury13% of residents
- 43450 · Pemberville12% of residents
- 43430 · Genoa2% of residents
- 43605 · Toledo1% of residents
- 43619 · Northwood1% 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 - Toledo Svc Area buys its water from Toledo City Of.
No other system is on record buying water from Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area.
What the records show about Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area as owned by a local government. It has 6,412 service connections and serves 19,758 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 - Toledo Svc Area buys water that Toledo City Of treats first, so the steps that count are the seller's. EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Toledo City Of: corrosion control, chlorine dioxide, coagulation and settling, chlorine disinfection, iron and manganese removal, fluoridation, lime softening, ozone, 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's record shows no health-based violations for Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area since 2015.
EPA logs no violations of any kind for Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area 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 Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area 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 7 ppb, in the period ending December 2018.
EPA has 9 sampling periods on file for Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area 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 - Toledo Svc Area sent EPA, 6,567 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 69 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 8 |
| Unknown material | 1,697 |
| Not lead | 4,793 |
| All lines | 6,567 |
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 - Toledo Svc Area in 2024 to 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 Toledo City Of (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 Toledo City Of as sampled, most recently March 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 Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 70.3 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 70.3 µg/L and the highest single sample was 130 µg/L, from 134 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 12.5 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 15.6 µg/L and the highest single sample was 33.2 µg/L, from 117 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 70.3 µg/L (2019) | 70.3 µg/L | 130 µg/L | 134 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 12.5 µg/L | 15.6 µg/L | 33.2 µg/L | 117 |
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 - Toledo Svc Area buys is treated by Toledo City Of, so the results below are Toledo City Of's.
Nitrate: the highest of 97 samples was 4.35 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2018; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 2.21 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) | 97 | 4.35 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 8 | not detected | 10 µg/L | 0 |
| Combined radium | 1 | not detected | 5 pCi/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 Toledo City Of.
Solvents and fuels
The water Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area buys is treated by Toledo City Of, so the results below are Toledo City Of'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 Toledo City Of.
Farm chemicals and metals
The water Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area buys is treated by Toledo City Of, so the results below are Toledo City Of's.
EPA's file holds results for all nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: atrazine in 6 of 26 samples, highest 0.3 µg/L (limit 3); barium in 1 of 8 samples, highest 10 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: alachlor in 26 samples, 2,4-D in 3 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 | 26 | 6 of 26 | 0.3 µg/L | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 26 | 0 of 26 | not detected | 0 |
| 2,4-D | Farm chemical | 70 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | 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 | 1 of 8 | 10 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 Toledo City Of.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 0 of 1,571 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area tested positive (0%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 240 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 - Toledo Svc Area buys its water from Toledo City Of, 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 Toledo City Of, which treats the water Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area buys.
Measured fluoride: 0.85 mg/L on average leaving the plants of Toledo City Of, which supplies Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area, in 2019 (in the range dentists aim for); samples ran from 0.85 to 1.08 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 - Toledo Svc Area, 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 Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area buys is treated by Toledo City Of, so the results below are Toledo City Of'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 95 times in 464 raw-water samples, across 11 bloom seasons (2016 to 2026); the highest raw-water result was 9.91 µg/L on July 30, 2019. The highest raw-water result since 2024 was 4.78 µg/L.
Microcystin was never detected in treated water (433 samples).
In all, 897 samples from 2016 to 2026, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Water | Samples | Detections | Highest result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw water, at the intake | 464 | 95 | 9.91 µg/L |
| Treated water | 433 | 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
The service area drawn on the map for Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area comes from the utility's own map.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 18,493 residents are inside the boundary, 94% of the 19,758 people Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area 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 — 10 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 OH8752812 (EPA ECHO).
Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svc Area's own pages: toledo.oh.gov
Notable facts: nwwsd.org, toledo.oh.gov, nwwsd.org
History: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org, circleofblue.org, nrdc.org
Water quality: nwwsd.org
Planned work: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org
Capital projects: nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org, nwwsd.org
Rates: nwwsd.org, toledo.oh.gov
Sewers: toledo.oh.gov, nwwsd.org, toledo.oh.gov
Treatment: nwwsd.org, toledo.oh.gov
Supply stress: nwwsd.org, nrdc.org, circleofblue.org
