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Shamokin Dam Borough

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
1,700 people
Connections
748
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Shamokin Dam, PA
County
Snyder
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

17876

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: PFOS, 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 Jan. 30, 2024 to March 11, 2026.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1994 to 1996.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 11, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOS was found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; its result is below. None of the other 12 PFAS tested for was found.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 5 samples
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal2.1 ppt highest, found in 1 of 5 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 samples
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 samples
PFBSIndex onlyNot foundNot found in any of 2 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.

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 goal2

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.1ppt

Highest sample, Nov. 27, 2024; found in 1 of 5

2026: not found

The highest sample was 2.1 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 0.53 ppt, for the year to Dec. 31, 2024: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 18 ppt and below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

90th percentile, 1996

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.0 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 limits4

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

42.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 26 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 42.2 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 105 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 26 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 44.1 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

54.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 30.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 54.6 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 111 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 30.7 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 52.6 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.1ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.93 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.75ppm

Highest sample; found in 5 of 7

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2023, was 0.75 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, 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 0.59 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
20 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)
  • Uranium

PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring

  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFBS
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHxA
  • PFHxS
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

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, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOS, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Lead Reduction

    For: 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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalApril 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. 18 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Shamokin Dam Borough’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. 11, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from Jan. 30, 2024 to March 11, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Eurofins Drinking Water and Wastewater Northeast, LLC

    Pottsville, PA · about 31 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (570) 662-7315

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Harrisburg

    Harrisburg, PA · about 34 miles

    (570) 348-0775

  • Pace Analytical Services LLC - Williamsport, PA

    Williamsport, PA · about 34 miles

    (570) 326-4001

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 PA4550022. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Snyder County

All Pennsylvania utilities

What to do next