Is Mount Joy, PA tap water safe?
The short answer
2 of the 3 utilities serving Mount Joy have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records: Columbia Water Co and Elizabethtown Area Water.
MT Joy Boro Auth, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 3.1 ppt, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from MT Joy Boro Auth is hard, 170 mg/L (9.9 grains per gallon). How Pennsylvania’s water compares.
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 Mount Joy’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
MT Joy Boro Auth
Pennsylvania · serves 15,261 people · about 1,000 in Mount Joy
3 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 3.1 ppt, above the health goal. Hardness: hard, 170 mg/L (9.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Columbia Water Co
Pennsylvania · serves 25,200 people · about 160 in Mount Joy
3 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 2.4 ppt, above the health goal.
3 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Elizabethtown Area Water
Pennsylvania · serves 19,000 people · about 160 in Mount Joy
1 result above the legal limit, 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at 62.1 ppb, above the legal limit.
1 health-based violation since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in MT Joy Boro Auth’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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ZeroWater 10 Cup Pitcher (ZP-010)
Pitcher
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Lead
Aquasana Claryum Direct Connect (AQ-MF-1)
Under-sink carbon
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 16, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Lead
Express Water StreamLine Direct Connect System (USC001)
Under-sink carbon
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 16, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Lead
Water testing near Mount Joy
The 3 labs Pennsylvania certifies closest to Mount Joy, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories Environment Testing, LLC
Lancaster, PA · about 11 miles
Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS
Owl Hill Laboratories LLC
Lititz, PA · about 12 miles
Certified for bacteria
ALS Environmental - Middletown
Middletown, PA · about 13 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity
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 Mount Joy
Which ZIP codes are in Mount Joy: 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 Mount Joy
Other towns in Lancaster County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read MT Joy Boro Auth’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for PFOSRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for PFAS, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water