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Carson Towers

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

Serves
266 people
Connections
1
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Pittsburgh, PA
County
Allegheny
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

16046

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded. 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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 13, 2020 to Aug. 13, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

98.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 48.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 98.7 ppb, in 2023, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 124 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 48.7 ppb. 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 91.3 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

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

Below EPA’s limits1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

34.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 24.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 34.8 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 42.5 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 24.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 36.3 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

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

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

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) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Carson Towers’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 Feb. 13, 2020 to Aug. 13, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Allegheny County Health Department Public Health Laboratory

    Warrendale, PA · about 5 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (412) 578-8070

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. Pittsburgh Division

    Warrendale, PA · about 5 miles

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

    (724) 772-0610

  • Kevco Services, Inc

    Butler, PA · about 12 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (724) 586-6343

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 PA5020082. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Allegheny County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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