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Donegal Township

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
820 people
Connections
310
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
West Alexander, PA
County
Washington
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

15376

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 11 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 May 1, 2024 to Aug. 8, 2024.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1993 to 1996.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Nov. 9, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA 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 pptAbove the health goal1.9 ppt highest, found in 1 of 2 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

113ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 85.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 113 ppb, in 2024, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 129 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 85.7 ppb, above the limit. EPA recorded violations for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2025 and 2026. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 90.9 ppb, in 2013, and EPA recorded violations in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.9ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 8, 2024; found in 1 of 2

2024 average: 0.95 ppt

The highest sample was 1.9 ppt: below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029, but above its health goal of zero. No entry point has four quarters of results in a row to average, the way both Pennsylvania’s limit and EPA’s are judged. Its only year on file is 2024, when its two samples averaged 0.95 ppt.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

90th percentile, 1996

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.0 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

Below EPA’s limits1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

30ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 30 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 46.3 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 41.9 ppb, in 2016, and EPA recorded a violation in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • PFOS

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, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), PFOA, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), PFOA, Lead

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

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2026 to June 30, 20260.089 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2026 to March 31, 20260.09 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 20250.087 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 20250.091 MG/LArchived
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyDec. 24, 2023—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyJune 16, 2022—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyApril 13, 2022—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 52 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

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. Donegal Township’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 Nov. 9, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from May 1, 2024 to Aug. 8, 2024.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Pace Analytical Services, LLC-Van Voorhis

    Van Voorhis, PA · about 27 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (724) 463-8378

  • H & H Water Controls Inc

    Carmichaels, PA · about 30 miles

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

    (724) 966-2278

  • Dream Pools and Spas Inc

    Pittsburgh, PA · about 39 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (412) 661-7665

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 PA5630068. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Washington County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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