Forest Hills Pch
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
- 40 people
- Connections
- 1
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Sidman, PA
- County
- Cambria
- Owner
- Private
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers PFAS; nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; and lead and copper, not everything. 1 health-based violation since 2016.
What was found
PFAS: Pennsylvania’s own results under its PFAS rule, entry point samples taken from March 31, 2025 to Nov. 18, 2025.
Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 1.5 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2008. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from July 8, 2020 to Dec. 10, 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from May 16, 2017 to Oct. 16, 2017. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
PFAS: None of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule was found in this utility’s samples.
EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound
| PFAS | EPA’s limit | Result |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA | 4.0 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 4 samples |
| PFOS | 4.0 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 4 samples |
| PFHxS | 10 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 3 samples |
| PFNA | 10 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 3 samples |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) | 10 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 3 samples |
| PFBS | Index only | Not 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. | ||
Below EPA’s limits1
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
2.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025
2025: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 2.6 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
12 compounds tested and not foundIncluding all six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 rule. Below the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
From routine monitoring
- Arsenic
- Chromium (total)
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Nitrate
- Uranium
PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring
- HFPO-DA (GenX)
- PFBS
- PFHxS
- PFNA
- PFOA
- PFOS
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groundwater Rule | Required treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) | Aug. 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2016 | — | Resolved |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 299 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Forest Hills Pch’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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 July 8, 2020 to Dec. 10, 2025; EPA’s compliance samples are from May 16, 2017 to Oct. 16, 2017; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from March 31, 2025 to Nov. 18, 2025.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Pennsylvania certifies closest to the area Forest Hills Pch serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Geochemical Testing
Somerset, PA · about 23 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
Chemstream Lab Services
Homer City, PA · about 27 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity
Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Altoona, PA
Altoona, PA · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
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 PennsylvaniaSources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Drinking Water Reporting System, PFAS results read Oct. 17, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Drinking Water Reporting System, results from Jan. 2, 2020 to Oct. 8, 2026, read Oct. 17, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Pennsylvania DEP Laboratory Accreditation Program, accredited labs for drinking water, read Oct. 11, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID PA4110028. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportForest Hills Pch must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded