Is Salem Heights, OH tap water safe?
The short answer
Neither of the 2 utilities serving Salem Heights has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Ohio’s records.
Cincinnati Public Water System, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 6.1 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
The water from Cincinnati Public Water System is hard, 126 to 140 mg/L (7.4 to 8.2 grains per gallon). How Ohio’s water compares.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Salem Heights’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Cincinnati Public Water System
Ohio · serves 800,000 people · about 3,300 in Salem Heights
1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 6.1 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: hard, 126 to 140 mg/L (7.4 to 8.2 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Salem City
Ohio · serves 16,850 people · under 100 in Salem Heights
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 9.4 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Cincinnati Public Water System’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, Arsenic, Lead
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, Arsenic, Lead
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, Arsenic, Lead
Water testing near Salem Heights
The 3 labs Ohio certifies closest to Salem Heights, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Ohio Department of Agriculture Consumer Protection Laboratory
Reynoldsburg, OH · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria
Benchmark Environmental Labs, Inc.
Columbus, OH · about 21 miles
Certified for bacteria
Superior Laboratories
Galloway, OH · about 31 miles
Certified for bacteria
Which ZIP codes are in Salem Heights: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Ohio EPA, laboratories certified/accepted to perform analyses on public drinking water; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Salem Heights
Other towns in Columbiana County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Cincinnati Public Water System’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for PFOSRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for PFAS, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water