Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

South Buffalo Twp Muni Auth

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
1,230 people
Connections
559
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Freeport, PA
County
Armstrong
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

16229

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 13 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1995 to 1996.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 6, 2020 to Aug. 5, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

90.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 72.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 90.3 ppb, in 2024, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 151 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its seven samples averaged 72.5 ppb. EPA recorded violations for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 68 ppb, in 2012, and EPA recorded violations in 2012 and 2017.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal1

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

36.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 25.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 36.1 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 66 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 25.6 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 35.4 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

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: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2026 to June 30, 20260.1 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2026 to March 31, 20260.1 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 20250.087 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 20250.09 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2025 to June 30, 20250.091 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 20250.092 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 20240.1 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.093 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.096 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2024 to March 31, 20240.088 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 20230.085 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 20230.083 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2017—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 12 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. South Buffalo Twp Muni Auth’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. 6, 2020 to Aug. 5, 2026.

Testing your own tap

South Buffalo Twp Muni Auth’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 South Buffalo Twp Muni Auth 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

    Kittaning, PA · about 11 miles

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

    (724) 543-3011

  • Kevco Services, Inc

    Butler, PA · about 13 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (724) 586-6343

  • Eurofins Pittsburgh

    Pittsburgh, PA · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (412) 963-7058

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 PA5030049. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Armstrong County

All Pennsylvania utilities

What to do next