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Harmar Twp Muni Auth

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
3,200 people
Connections
1,087
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Cheswick, PA
County
Allegheny
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

15024

The short answer

4 results are above the health goal. The worst: PFOS, 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 Jan. 23, 2024 to Aug. 18, 2026.

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

Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 8, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and PFBS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below. Four other PFAS with no federal limit were found, the highest PFBA at 3.4 ppt: see them below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptAbove the health goal1.7 ppt highest, found in 8 of 14 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal2.7 ppt highest, found in 14 of 16 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptBelow EPA’s limits2.5 ppt highest, found in 8 of 10 samples. Details
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 8 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 8 samples
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits3.8 ppt highest, found in 12 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 goal4

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.7ppt

Highest sample, May 6, 2025; found in 14 of 16

2026 average: 1.8 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 2.0 ppt, for the year to Sept. 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 five samples averaged 1.8 ppt.

What handles it

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.7ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 5, 2025; found in 8 of 14

2026 average: 0.8 ppt

The highest sample was 1.7 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 0.76 ppt, for the year to Sept. 30, 2025: 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 four samples averaged 0.8 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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 1.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.8 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.2 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.4 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits6

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

40.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 35 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 40.6 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 35 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 36 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

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

PFHxS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.5ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 5, 2025; found in 8 of 10

2026 average: 0.87 ppt

The highest sample was 2.5 ppt, below EPA’s new limit of 10 ppt, which takes effect in 2029. Averaged over four quarters at one entry point, the way EPA’s limit is judged, the highest was 0.95 ppt, for the year to Sept. 30, 2025: below EPA’s new limit of 10 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 0.87 ppt.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 11 of 11

2026, one sample: 0.78 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 1.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.78 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.5 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.2 ppm, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.23 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.32 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024 average: 0.85 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 2.6 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 0.85 ppb.

What handles it

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

3.8ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 5, 2025; found in 12 of 12

2026 average: 1.8 ppt

The highest sample was 3.8 ppt, below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own. In 2026, the latest year on file, its five samples averaged 1.8 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
PFBA3.4 ppt3 of 3None covers it
PFPeA1.1 ppt3 of 3None covers it
PFHxA0.83 ppt3 of 3None covers it
PFHpA0.62 ppt2 of 3NSF/ANSI 53: Total PFAS Reduction
19 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

  • Arsenic
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

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
  • PFHpS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • 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: PFOS Reduction, PFOA Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOS, PFOA, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Lead Reduction, Uranium

    For: PFOS, 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 5 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Harmar Twp Muni Auth’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. 8, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Jan. 23, 2024 to Aug. 18, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Harmar Twp Muni Auth’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 Harmar Twp Muni Auth serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eurofins Pittsburgh

    Pittsburgh, PA · about 4 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (412) 963-7058

  • Dream Pools and Spas Inc

    Pittsburgh, PA · about 9 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (412) 661-7665

  • RJ Lee Group, Inc.

    Monroeville, PA · about 12 miles

    Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, PFAS, asbestos

    (724) 325-1776

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 PA5020009. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Allegheny County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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