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Salem Heights Estate

What EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
62 people
Connections
40
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Lake Ariel, PA
County
Wayne
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

18436

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Uranium, above the health goal. 11 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

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

Nitrate: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from March 30, 2020 to March 30, 2020, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from June 27, 2012 to Sept. 11, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

2019, one sample: 3.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.4 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 3.1 ppb.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.0ppb

90th percentile, 1996

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.0 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 limits1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.37ppm

One sample

2020, one sample: 0.37 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.37 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That is the only year on file, and its one sample was 0.37 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.48 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
5 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Fluoride
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

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 RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyJune 11, 2021—Unaddressed
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyFeb. 5, 2021—Unaddressed
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Sept. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2020—Resolved
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 20200.013 MG/LResolved
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
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 20200.013 MG/LResolved
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 20200.013 MG/LResolved
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 20190.01 MG/LResolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)June 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2017 to Oct. 31, 2017—Resolved
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)June 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1,047 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Salem Heights Estate’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 March 30, 2020 to March 30, 2020; EPA’s compliance samples are from June 27, 2012 to Sept. 11, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Salem Heights Estate’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 Salem Heights Estate 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 13 miles

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

    (570) 209-7916

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Pittston

    Pittston, PA · about 21 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 29 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 PA2640054. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Wayne County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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