Highland S&W Auth Northern End
What EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records show in this utility’s water: PFAS; nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.
- Serves
- 463 people
- Connections
- 233
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Johnstown, PA
- County
- Cambria
- Owner
- Local government
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, plus nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
PFAS: Pennsylvania’s own results under its PFAS rule, entry point samples taken from Jan. 16, 2024 to Feb. 19, 2025.
Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 19, 2020 to Aug. 12, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
PFAS: None of the two 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 22 samples |
| PFOS | 4.0 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 22 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 limits4
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.36ppm
Highest sample; found in 10 of 36
2026 average: 0.18 ppm
The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.36 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its five samples averaged 0.18 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 3.7 ppm, in 2012.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
1.9ppb
Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2026
2026, one sample: 1.7 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.9 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 7.3 ppb, in 2014.
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
1.0ppb
Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2026
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.0 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.0 ppb, in 2015.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.011ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.011 ppm, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.055 ppm. That was also the latest year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
5 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)
- Uranium
PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring
- PFOA
- PFOS
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 24 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Highland S&W Auth Northern End’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. 19, 2020 to Aug. 12, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Jan. 16, 2024 to Feb. 19, 2025.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Pennsylvania certifies closest to the area Highland S&W Auth Northern End 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 13 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
US Micro-Solutions Inc
Latrobe, PA · about 34 miles
Certified for bacteria
Chemstream Lab Services
Homer City, PA · about 41 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, 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 PA4110016. 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 reportHighland S&W Auth Northern End must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.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