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Borough of Avondale

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
1,108 people
Connections
362
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Avondale, PA
County
Chester
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

19311

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, 1 more is above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, and 3 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS: Pennsylvania’s own results under its PFAS rule, entry point samples taken from Feb. 28, 2024 to Aug. 21, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1993 to 1995.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), uranium, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 28, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA, PFOS 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 EPA’s new limit (2029)12.8 ppt highest, found in 6 of 6 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal3.9 ppt highest, found in 4 of 5 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 3 samples
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 5 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 3 samples
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits4.4 ppt highest, found in 3 of 3 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 limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

99.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 99.5 ppb, in 2026, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 31 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

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

Above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 20291

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above EPA’s new limit (2029)

12.8ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 21, 2026; found in 6 of 6

2026, one sample: 12.8 ppt

The highest sample was 12.8 ppt, about 3.2 times EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029. EPA’s health goal is zero. Compliance will be judged on a running annual average, not one sample. Averaged over four quarters at one entry point, the way both Pennsylvania’s limit and EPA’s are judged, the highest was 6.8 ppt, for the year to March 31, 2025: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 14 ppt and above EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 12.8 ppt.

What handles it

Above the health goal3

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.9ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 21, 2026; found in 4 of 5

2026, one sample: 3.9 ppt

The highest sample was 3.9 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 2.0 ppt, for the year to Dec. 31, 2024: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 18 ppt and below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.9 ppt.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

4.6ppb

90th percentile, 1995

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 4.6 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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025

2025, one sample: 0.69 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.7 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.69 ppb.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits3

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

8.0ppm

Highest sample; found in 24 of 24

2026, one sample: 3.1 ppm

The highest sample, in 2021, was 8.0 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 9.9 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

16.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 16.8 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 18.3 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.4ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 21, 2026; found in 3 of 3

2026, one sample: 4.4 ppt

The highest sample was 4.4 ppt, below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 4.4 ppt.

What handles it

6 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

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: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, PFOA Reduction, PFOS Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), PFOA, PFOS, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Lead Reduction, Uranium

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), PFOA, PFOS, Lead, Uranium

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 PFAS, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 20 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), uranium, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Borough of Avondale’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 Jan. 28, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Feb. 28, 2024 to Aug. 21, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Brandywine Science Center

    Kennett Square, PA · about 5 miles

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

    (610) 444-9850

  • Batta Laboratories LLC

    Newark, DE · about 11 miles

    Certified for asbestos

    (302) 737-3376

  • H.O. Thompson Testing Lab

    Parkesburg, PA · about 13 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (610) 593-5030

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 PA1150005. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Chester County

All Pennsylvania utilities

What to do next