Paw Paw Lake
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
- 120 people
- Connections
- 40
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Chagrin Falls, OH
- County
- Geauga
- Owner
- Private
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Ohio’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. 1 health-based violation since 2016.
What was found
Lead and copper: copper at 955 mg/L (2005) is left out of this report: it is one of the results Ohio sent EPA in 2006, all at µg/L magnitudes though EPA’s file marks them mg/L.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Ohio’s own results, samples taken from April 8, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Below EPA’s limits2
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
9.2ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025
2025, one sample: 8.6 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 9.2 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 8.6 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 17.9 ppb, in 2014.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.81ppm
Highest sample; found in 6 of 6
2025, one sample: 0.51 ppm
The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.81 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.51 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.91 ppm, in 2018.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
5 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Chromium (total)
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | The required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL Inventory | Oct. 17, 2024 | — | Resolved |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Ohio’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Paw Paw Lake’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 April 8, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2025.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Ohio certifies closest to the area Paw Paw Lake serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
BSA Environmental Services, Inc.
Beachwood, OH · about 6 miles
Eurofins Environment Testing North Central
Cleveland, OH · about 7 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Biosolutions, LLC
Chagrin Falls, OH · about 7 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, results from Jan. 2, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2025, read Oct. 17, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Ohio EPA, laboratories certified/accepted to perform analyses on public drinking water, read Oct. 10, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID OH2802211. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Ohio’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportPaw Paw Lake must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded