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Rbe Water Association Inc

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
175 people
Connections
72
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Roaring Brook Twp, PA
County
Lackawanna
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

18444

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Uranium, above the health goal. 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 March 5, 2025 to Oct. 29, 2025.

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

Nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 22, 2020 to Feb. 2, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from July 9, 2013 to Nov. 11, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

PFAS: None of the six 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 4 samples
PFOS4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples
PFBSIndex onlyNot foundNot found in any of 4 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 health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

2019, one sample: 0.003 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.1 ppb, in 2013: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.003 ppb.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.8ppb

90th percentile, 1996

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.8 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 limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.79ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 0.7 ppm

The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.79 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.7 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.69 ppm, in 2019.

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

2.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.8 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

10 compounds tested and not foundIncluding all six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 rule. Below the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

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

PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring

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

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
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Feb. 1, 2022 to Feb. 28, 2022—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Jan. 1, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2022—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2020 to Oct. 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)Jan. 1, 2020 to Jan. 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)Nov. 1, 2019 to Nov. 30, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2019 to Oct. 31, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Sept. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Aug. 1, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)July 1, 2019 to July 31, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)May 1, 2019 to May 31, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)April 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)March 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Feb. 1, 2019 to Feb. 28, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)June 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)March 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 51 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Rbe Water Association Inc’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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 Sept. 22, 2020 to Feb. 2, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from July 9, 2013 to Nov. 11, 2019; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from March 5, 2025 to Oct. 29, 2025.

Testing your own tap

Rbe Water Association Inc’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 Rbe Water Association Inc serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Princeton Analytical Labs

    Dunmore, PA · about 8 miles

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

    (570) 209-7916

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Pittston

    Pittston, PA · about 10 miles

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

    (570) 348-0775

  • A E Kirby Memorial Health Center

    Wilkes-Barre, PA · about 18 miles

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

    (570) 822-4278

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 PA2350033. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Lackawanna County

All Pennsylvania utilities

What to do next