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Borough of Howard

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
1,001 people
Connections
415
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Howard, PA
County
Centre
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

16841

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: PFOA, above the health goal. 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. 5, 2024 to May 5, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1994 to 1996.

Uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and chromium (total): Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from March 4, 2020 to Aug. 7, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA and PFBS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below. One other PFAS with no federal limit was found, the highest PFBA at 2.1 ppt: see it below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptAbove the health goal2.3 ppt highest, found in 4 of 15 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 15 samples
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits1.9 ppt highest, found in 2 of 12 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 health goal3

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.3ppt

Highest sample, May 5, 2026; found in 4 of 15

2026 average: 0.77 ppt

The highest sample was 2.3 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 1.0 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 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 0.77 ppt.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.0ppb

90th percentile, 1996

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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.46ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.46 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 1.4 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.001 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits5

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 21 of 23

2026 average: 2.1 ppm

The highest sample, in 2022, was 4.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 2.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 5.0 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

16.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 15.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 16.7 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 15.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 11.5 ppb, in 2017.

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

0.48ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.48 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.75 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its three samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.55 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

3.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.1 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.9ppt

Highest sample, Oct. 10, 2024; found in 2 of 12

2024 average: 0.32 ppt

The highest sample was 1.9 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 2024, when its 12 samples averaged 0.32 ppt.

What handles it

Also found, with no federal limit

EPA measured these PFAS to learn how often they occur. None has a legal limit or a health goal yet.

CompoundHighest sampleFound inCertification claim
PFBA2.1 ppt3 of 12None covers it
24 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)

PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring

  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • NFDHA
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxA
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOS
  • PFPeA
  • PFPeS
  • PFUnA

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: PFOA Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOA, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Lead Reduction, Uranium

    For: PFOA, 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 15 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Borough of Howard’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 March 4, 2020 to Aug. 7, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Feb. 5, 2024 to May 5, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory

    University Park, PA · about 19 miles

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

    (814) 863-0841

  • SPL - State College

    State College, PA · about 20 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (610) 375-8378

  • TGAI Laboratories LLC

    State College, PA · about 20 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (814) 238-5927

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 PA4140080. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Centre County

All Pennsylvania utilities

What to do next