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Is Windber, PA tap water safe?

2 utilities serve Windber, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

1 of the 2 utilities serving Windber has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records: Highland S & W Auth Beaverdam.

Windber Area Auth, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 19.7 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. A health benchmark is a level EPA screens with, not a legal limit.

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 Windber’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

Water testing near Windber

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Pennsylvania certifies.

The 3 labs Pennsylvania certifies closest to Windber, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Geochemical Testing

    Somerset, PA · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity

    (814) 443-1671

  • Chemstream Lab Services

    Homer City, PA · about 27 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity

    (724) 915-8388

  • Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Altoona, PA

    Altoona, PA · about 28 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity

    (814) 946-4306

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

ZIP codes in Windber

Which ZIP codes are in Windber: 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 Windber

Other towns in Somerset County with a page of their own.

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