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Jefferson Co W&S District - J

What EPA’s and Ohio’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
896 people
Connections
289
Water source
Groundwater bought from another system
Based in
Steubenville, OH
County
Jefferson
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

43938

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2017 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Ohio’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 10, 2020 to Nov. 10, 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

76.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025 average: 38.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 76.6 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 139 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its eight samples averaged 38.1 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2024. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 75.9 ppb, in 2016, and EPA recorded a violation in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.8ppb

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.8 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

28.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025 average: 10 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 28.1 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 61.2 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its eight samples averaged 10 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 30.7 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.084 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2017 to June 30, 20170.087 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 4 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Ohio’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Jefferson Co W&S District - J’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; Ohio’s results run from Feb. 10, 2020 to Nov. 10, 2025.

Testing your own tap

Jefferson Co W&S District - J’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Ohio certifies.

The 3 labs Ohio certifies closest to the area Jefferson Co W&S District - J serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Ream & Haager Laboratories, Inc.

    Dover, OH · about 46 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts

    (330) 343-3711

  • Canton City Health Department

    Canton, OH · about 50 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (330) 489-3231

  • Canton Water Laboratory

    Canton, OH · about 50 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (330) 489-3035

All 76 certified labs for Ohio

Sources

PWSID OH4101003. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Jefferson County

All Ohio utilities

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