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Philo

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
974 people
Connections
287
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Philo, OH
County
Muskingum
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

43771

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2007 to 2023. Lead at 5.0 mg/L (2005) and copper at 97 mg/L (2005) are left out of this report: they are among the results Ohio sent EPA in 2006, all at µg/L magnitudes though EPA’s file marks them mg/L.

Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and chromium (total): Ohio’s own results, samples taken from July 16, 2020 to Aug. 7, 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.0ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.0 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 limits4

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.6ppm

Highest sample; found in 6 of 6

2025, one sample: 0.3 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 2.6 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.3 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 2.4 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

20.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025 average: 5.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 20.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 25.8 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 5.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 19.8 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.16ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 0.11 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.16 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.11 ppm.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

2.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.4 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 4.7 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 8.8 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)

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.”

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

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 3 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Ohio’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Philo’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 July 16, 2020 to Aug. 7, 2025.

Testing your own tap

Philo’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 Philo serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • SafeSource Water Analytics LLC

    McConnelsville, OH · about 13 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (740) 292-2002

  • Coshocton Environmental Testing, LLC

    Coshocton, OH · about 30 miles

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

    (740) 622-3328

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Marietta Division

    Marietta, OH · about 40 miles

    Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, PFAS

    (740) 373-4071

All 76 certified labs for Ohio

Sources

PWSID OH6001912. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Muskingum County

All Ohio utilities

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