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Polk Center

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
1,058 people
Connections
9
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Polk, PA
County
Venango
Owner
State government
The ZIP code it serves

16342

The short answer

2 results are above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Lead, above the action level. 19 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 May 21, 2024 to July 7, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2001 to 2010.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 16, 2020 to Sept. 29, 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

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 7 samples
PFOS4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 7 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.

Above the legal limit2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

140ppb

90th percentile, 2010

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 140 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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

109ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 63.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 109 ppb, in 2025, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 164 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 63.9 ppb. EPA recorded violations for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 89.2 ppb, in 2019, and EPA recorded a violation in 2019.

What handles it

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

Below EPA’s limits2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

55.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 23.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 55.3 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 68.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 23.7 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 45.6 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 5

2024: not found

The highest sample, in 2023, was 1.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.3 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

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

  • PFOA
  • PFOS

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, Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Lead, Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Lead Reduction, Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Lead, Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2026 to June 30, 20260.16 MG/LArchived
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleOne cloudiness reading was above the maximum allowed.EPA: Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)March 1, 2026 to March 31, 202699,999 NTUResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2026 to March 31, 20260.16 MG/LArchived
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform or E. coli results required a detailed review of the system, and it or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 2 Assessment (RTCR)Oct. 19, 2025—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 20250.16 MG/LArchived
Revised Total Coliform RuleE. coli was confirmed in the water system.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, E. coli (RTCR)Sept. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2025—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 20250.16 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2025 to June 30, 20250.093 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 20250.091 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 20240.094 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.099 MG/LArchived
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2024—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.098 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2024 to March 31, 20240.094 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 20230.081 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 20200.083 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 20200.085 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 20190.089 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 20190.083 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 106 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and uranium results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Polk Center’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. 16, 2020 to Sept. 29, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from May 21, 2024 to July 7, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Kevco Services, Inc

    Butler, PA · about 35 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (724) 586-6343

  • G & C Coal Analysis Lab Inc

    Summerville, PA · about 42 miles

    (814) 849-7301

  • Eurofins Drinking Water and Wastewater Northeast

    Kittaning, PA · about 43 miles

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

    (724) 543-3011

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 PA6610010. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Venango County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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