Is Mars, PA tap water safe?
The short answer
2 of the 4 utilities serving Mars have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records: West View Water Authority and Municipal Water Auth Adams Twp.
West View Water Authority, which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records. That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Mars’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
West View Water Authority
Pennsylvania · serves 200,000 people · under 100 in Mars
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
2 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Municipal Water Auth Adams Twp
Pennsylvania · serves 8,700 people · under 100 in Mars
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.59 ppb, above the health goal.
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Seven Fields Boro Water Dept
Pennsylvania · serves 3,100 people · under 100 in Mars
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 5.0 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Mars Borough Water Works
Pennsylvania · serves 1,956 people · under 100 in Mars
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 10.9 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Mars
The 3 labs Pennsylvania certifies closest to Mars, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Allegheny County Health Department Public Health Laboratory
Warrendale, PA · about 5 miles
Certified for bacteria
Microbac Laboratories, Inc. Pittsburgh Division
Warrendale, PA · about 5 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Kevco Services, Inc
Butler, PA · about 12 miles
Certified for bacteria
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 PennsylvaniaZIP codes in Mars
Which ZIP codes are in Mars: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Pennsylvania DEP Laboratory Accreditation Program, accredited labs for drinking water; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Mars
Other towns in Butler County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read West View Water Authority’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water