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Lca Heidelberg Heights Div

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
509 people
Connections
183
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Allentown, PA
County
Lehigh
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Hard
The ZIP code it serves

18053

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: PFOA, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation 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 March 16, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1993 to 1996.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 22, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA and PFBS 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 goal3.6 ppt highest, found in 11 of 30 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal2.3 ppt highest, found in 3 of 29 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 21 samples
PFNA10 pptBelow EPA’s limits0.94 ppt highest, found in 1 of 21 samples. Details
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 21 samples
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits1.8 ppt highest, found in 3 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 the health goal3

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.6ppt

Highest sample, March 16, 2026; found in 11 of 30

2026 average: 1.2 ppt

The highest sample was 3.6 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 1.9 ppt, for the year to March 31, 2026: 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 three samples averaged 1.2 ppt.

What handles it

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.3ppt

Highest sample, March 16, 2026; found in 3 of 29

2026 average: 0.75 ppt

The highest sample was 2.3 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 0.56 ppt, for the year to March 31, 2026: 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 three samples averaged 0.75 ppt.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

90th percentile, 1996

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 limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

43ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 43 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 21.1 ppb, in 2016.

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

4.8ppm

Highest sample; found in 35 of 39

2026 average: 3.0 ppm

The highest sample, in 2023, was 4.8 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 3.0 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 5.0 ppm, in 2017.

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

11.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 3.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 11.3 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 11.7 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

PFNA

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.94ppt

Highest sample, July 15, 2024; found in 1 of 21

2026: not found

The highest sample was 0.94 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 0.24 ppt, for the year to June 30, 2025: below EPA’s new limit of 10 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its three samples.

What handles it

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.8ppt

Highest sample, March 16, 2026; found in 3 of 21

2026 average: 0.6 ppt

The highest sample was 1.8 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 three samples averaged 0.6 ppt.

What handles it

6 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)
  • Fluoride
  • Uranium

PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring

  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • PFHxS

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: PFOA Reduction, PFOS Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOA, PFOS, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: PFOA, PFOS, 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

Hardness

Hard, typically 151 mg/L (8.8 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, in 2024.

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.

Softeners compared at 8.8 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Pennsylvania water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2016 to Oct. 31, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 7 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. Lca Heidelberg Heights Div’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 Jan. 22, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Feb. 27, 2024 to March 16, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Lca Heidelberg Heights Div’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 Lca Heidelberg Heights Div serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • ABE Laboratories LLC

    Bath, PA · about 16 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (610) 837-7721

  • Eurofins Philadelphia - Wind Gap

    Wind Gap, PA · about 22 miles

    (215) 355-3900

  • HawkMtn Labs Inc

    Hazle Township, PA · about 24 miles

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

    (570) 455-6011

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 PA3390047. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Lehigh County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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