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Toby Water

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
440 people
Connections
170
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Kersey, PA
County
Elk
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

15846

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Lead, above the action level. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1993 to 2007.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from March 4, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from May 3, 2012 to Sept. 3, 2015. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

32.5ppb

90th percentile, 2007

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 32.5 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

Below EPA’s limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

74.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 54.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 74.8 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 54.6 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 49.1 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

43.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 31.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 43.8 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 85.4 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 31.3 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 58.6 ppb, in 2015, and EPA recorded violations in 2015 and 2016.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 1 of 4

2015, one sample: 0.2 ppm

The highest sample, in 2015, was 0.2 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and its one sample was 0.2 ppm.

What handles it

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

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
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016—Resolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 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. 5 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. Nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Toby Water’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 4, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from May 3, 2012 to Sept. 3, 2015.

Testing your own tap

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

  • White Oak Laboratory LLC

    Ridgway, PA · about 12 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (814) 772-5927

  • Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Dubois

    Dubois, PA · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (814) 371-6030

  • G & C Coal Analysis Lab Inc

    Summerville, PA · about 35 miles

    (814) 849-7301

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 PA6240008. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Elk County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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