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Lake of the Pines

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
1,200 people
Connections
437
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
East Stroudsburg, PA
County
Monroe
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

18302

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: PFOS, above EPA’s new limit (2029). 12 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 Feb. 27, 2024 to Sept. 2, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1994.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 5, 2020 to Aug. 13, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOS and PFOA 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 goal3.9 ppt highest, found in 3 of 20 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptAbove EPA’s new limit (2029)6.3 ppt highest, found in 6 of 21 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 EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 20291

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above EPA’s new limit (2029)

6.3ppt

Highest sample, Nov. 7, 2024; found in 6 of 21

2026 average: 1.5 ppt

The highest sample was 6.3 ppt, above EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029. EPA’s health goal is zero. Compliance will be judged on a running annual average, not one sample. Averaged over four quarters at one entry point, the way both Pennsylvania’s limit and EPA’s are judged, the highest was 4.7 ppt, for the year to Dec. 31, 2024: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 18 ppt and above EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, its five samples averaged 1.5 ppt.

What handles it

Above the health goal2

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.9ppt

Highest sample, Nov. 7, 2024; found in 3 of 20

2026 average: 0.52 ppt

The highest sample was 3.9 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 1.4 ppt, for the year to Dec. 31, 2024: 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 five samples averaged 0.52 ppt.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

90th percentile, 1994

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.0 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 limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

13.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 5.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 13.3 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.9 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 12.9 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

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

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 15 of 22

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2022, was 1.2 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its three samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 3.0 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

6.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 2.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.1 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.9 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.6 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Fluoride
  • Uranium

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

    For: PFOS, 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
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)May 1, 2026 to May 31, 2026—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)April 1, 2026 to April 30, 2026—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Nov. 1, 2022 to Nov. 30, 2022—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Aug. 1, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2020—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)July 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)May 1, 2020 to May 31, 2020—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)April 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)March 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2017—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Nov. 1, 2017 to Nov. 30, 2017—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 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. 36 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and uranium results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Lake of the Pines’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. 5, 2020 to Aug. 13, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Feb. 27, 2024 to Sept. 2, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Lake of the Pines’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 Lake of the Pines serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eurofins Philadelphia - Wind Gap

    Wind Gap, PA · about 21 miles

    (215) 355-3900

  • ABE Laboratories LLC

    Bath, PA · about 28 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (610) 837-7721

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Pittston

    Pittston, PA · about 36 miles

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

    (570) 348-0775

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 PA2450015. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Monroe County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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