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Blue Heron Homeowners Assoc

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

Serves
450 people
Connections
126
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Moscow, PA
County
Carbon
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

18624

The short answer

2 results are above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the action level. 8 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS: Pennsylvania’s own results under its PFAS rule, entry point samples taken from March 19, 2024 to Feb. 27, 2025.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1994 to 2026. Lead at 0.38 mg/L (2025) is left out of this report: more than 20 times the action level, it looks like µg/L entered as mg/L.

Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 6, 2020 to May 19, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOS, PFOA and PFBS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptAbove the health goal3.0 ppt highest, found in 5 of 5 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal3.2 ppt highest, found in 5 of 5 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in its one sample
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in its one sample
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in its one sample
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits2.1 ppt highest, found in 1 of 1 samples. Details
Results from Pennsylvania’s own PFAS monitoring, samples where water enters the pipes; each compound’s card has its four-quarter averages, the way limits are judged. The limits are EPA’s 2024 rule, with compliance due from 2029; EPA has since proposed changes to some of them, explained on each compound’s page. Pennsylvania’s own limits for PFOA and PFOS are in force now. PFBS has no limit of its own and counts only toward EPA’s Hazard Index, which TapBuff works out only from UCMR 5’s averages, so it isn’t given here.

About PFAS certifications

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 4.0 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

Above the legal limit2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

62ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 62 ppb, above EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027, and this result is at or above that. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

2.7ppm

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.7 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal2

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.2ppt

Highest sample, Sept. 18, 2024; found in 5 of 5

2025, one sample: 3.0 ppt

The highest sample was 3.2 ppt: below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029, but above its health goal of zero. Averaged over four quarters at one entry point, the way both Pennsylvania’s limit and EPA’s are judged, the highest was 2.7 ppt, for the year to March 31, 2025: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 18 ppt and below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.0 ppt.

What handles it

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.0ppt

Highest sample, March 19, 2024; found in 5 of 5

2025, one sample: 2.6 ppt

The highest sample was 3.0 ppt: below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029, but above its health goal of zero. Averaged over four quarters at one entry point, the way both Pennsylvania’s limit and EPA’s are judged, the highest was 2.4 ppt, for the year to Dec. 31, 2024: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 14 ppt and below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.6 ppt.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.85ppm

Highest sample; found in 8 of 9

2026, one sample: 0.56 ppm

The highest sample, in 2023, was 0.85 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.56 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.2 ppm, in 2012.

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

3.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.8 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 9.3 ppb. In 2024, 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 3.5 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.5 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 3.0 ppb. In 2024, 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 3.7 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.1ppt

One sample, Feb. 27, 2025

2025, one sample: 2.1 ppt

The sample was 2.1 ppt, below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own. Its only year on file is 2025, when its one sample was 2.1 ppt.

What handles it

7 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Fluoride
  • Uranium

PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring

  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • PFHxS
  • PFNA

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: Lead Reduction, Copper Reduction, PFOS Reduction, PFOA Reduction

    For: Lead, Copper, PFOS, PFOA

    Other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS); Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Lead Reduction, Copper Reduction, Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

    For: Lead, Copper, PFOS, PFOA

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

The best water filters for PFAS, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)July 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025—Resolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform or E. coli results required a detailed review of the system, and it or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 2 Assessment (RTCR)Sept. 27, 2024—Resolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)Sept. 24, 2024—Resolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform or E. coli results required a detailed review of the system, and it or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 2 Assessment (RTCR)Aug. 31, 2024—Resolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)Aug. 27, 2024—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Aug. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2023—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)March 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 22 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and uranium results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Blue Heron Homeowners Assoc’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; Pennsylvania’s results run from Aug. 6, 2020 to May 19, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from March 19, 2024 to Feb. 27, 2025.

Testing your own tap

Blue Heron Homeowners Assoc’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 Pennsylvania certifies.

The 3 labs Pennsylvania certifies closest to the area Blue Heron Homeowners Assoc serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Pittston

    Pittston, PA · about 17 miles

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

    (570) 348-0775

  • A E Kirby Memorial Health Center

    Wilkes-Barre, PA · about 18 miles

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

    (570) 822-4278

  • HawkMtn Labs Inc

    Hazle Township, PA · about 22 miles

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

    (570) 455-6011

Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory: Drinking water test kits from many county Extension offices, mailed back to the lab overnight with payment. Packages cover bacteria and basic chemistry, with add-ons for nitrate, metals, lead, and mining or gas drilling concerns. The standard package of bacteria, pH and total dissolved solids is $60, or $70 with nitrate; bacteria alone is $40, nitrate $15 and lead $25. Drinking Water Testing, Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Lab.

All 108 certified labs for Pennsylvania

Sources

PWSID PA3130040. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Carbon County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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