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Irish Creek MHP

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
90 people
Connections
50
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Ellicott City, PA
County
Berks
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

19541

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 3 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 March 31, 2025 to Aug. 27, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1994 to 2007.

Arsenic, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 24, 2020 to June 11, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA and PFOS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptAbove the health goal3.8 ppt highest, found in 6 of 12 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal2.4 ppt highest, found in 9 of 12 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples
PFBSIndex onlyNot foundNot found in any of 12 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

18ppb

90th percentile, 2007

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 18 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 goal3

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.8ppt

Highest sample, June 27, 2025; found in 6 of 12

2026 average: 0.92 ppt

The highest sample was 3.8 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. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 0.92 ppt.

What handles it

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.4ppt

Highest sample, March 11, 2026; found in 9 of 12

2026 average: 1.7 ppt

The highest sample was 2.4 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. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 1.7 ppt.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

5.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024 average: 3.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 5.0 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2024, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 3.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 6.0 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.9ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 14

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2022, was 1.9 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 2.3 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.5 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

8 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

  • Chromium (total)
  • Fluoride
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
  • Uranium

PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring

  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • PFBS
  • PFHxS
  • PFNA

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, PFOA Reduction, PFOS Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Lead, PFOA, PFOS, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA); Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS); Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Lead Reduction, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Lead, PFOA, PFOS, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

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

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)May 1, 2024 to May 31, 2024—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)March 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022—Resolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)March 23, 2020—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 137 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and uranium results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Irish Creek MHP’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. 24, 2020 to June 11, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from March 31, 2025 to Aug. 27, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • SPL - Reading

    Reading, PA · about 8 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity

    (610) 375-8378

  • M. J. Reider Associates Inc

    Reading, PA · about 12 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS

    (610) 374-5129

  • Pure-Test Laboratory

    Myerstown, PA · about 16 miles

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

    (717) 866-2234

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 PA3060113. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Berks County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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