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Clarks Summit State Hospital

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
576 people
Connections
20
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Clarks Summit, PA
County
Lackawanna
Owner
State government
The ZIP code it serves

18411

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the action level. 3 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 Feb. 15, 2024 to May 19, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1993 to 2019.

Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 15, 2020 to June 16, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOS was found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; its result is below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 7 samples
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal2.7 ppt highest, found in 7 of 7 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 3 samples
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 3 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 3 samples
PFBSIndex onlyNot foundNot found in any of 3 samples
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 limit1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

30.5ppb

90th percentile, 2019

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 30.5 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

Above the health goal2

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.7ppt

Highest sample, March 4, 2025; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 2.1 ppt

The highest sample was 2.7 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 June 30, 2025: 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 2.1 ppt.

What handles it

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.001ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.001 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.3 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

52.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 16.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 52.5 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 103 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 16.5 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 28.5 ppb, in 2017.

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

14.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 6.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 14.2 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 20.2 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 6.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 7.3 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.6ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 1.3 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 1.6 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.3 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.9 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
8 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)
  • PFBS
  • PFHxS
  • PFNA
  • PFOA

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, PFOS Reduction

    For: Lead, PFOS

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Lead Reduction, Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Uranium

    For: Lead, PFOS, 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 lead, ranked

The best water filters for PFAS, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper RuleA required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/RecommendationApril 1, 2022—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2019 to Oct. 31, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Sept. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2019—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 36 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Clarks Summit State Hospital’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 Sept. 15, 2020 to June 16, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Feb. 15, 2024 to May 19, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Clarks Summit State Hospital’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 Clarks Summit State Hospital serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Princeton Analytical Labs

    Dunmore, PA · about 6 miles

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

    (570) 209-7916

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Pittston

    Pittston, PA · about 11 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 16 miles

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

    (570) 822-4278

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 PA2350028. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Lackawanna County

All Pennsylvania utilities

What to do next