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Western Berks Water Auth

What EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records show in this utility’s water: PFAS; nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
75 people
Connections
18
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Sinking Spring, PA
County
Berks
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

19506

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: PFOA, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS: Pennsylvania’s own results under its PFAS rule, entry point samples taken from May 25, 2023 to July 6, 2026.

Arsenic, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total) and uranium: Pennsylvania’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 11, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA, PFOS and PFBS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below. Two other PFAS with no federal limit were found, the highest PFHxA at 3.0 ppt: see them below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptAbove the health goal3.9 ppt highest, found in 14 of 14 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptAbove the health goal1.9 ppt highest, found in 4 of 14 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 11 samples
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 11 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 11 samples
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits3.9 ppt highest, found in 11 of 11 samples. Details
Results from Pennsylvania’s own PFAS monitoring, samples where water enters the pipes; each compound’s card has its four-quarter averages, the way limits are judged. The limits are EPA’s 2024 rule, with compliance due from 2029; EPA has since proposed changes to some of them, explained on each compound’s page. Pennsylvania’s own limits for PFOA and PFOS are in force now. PFBS has no limit of its own and counts only toward EPA’s Hazard Index, which TapBuff works out only from UCMR 5’s averages, so it isn’t given here.

About PFAS certifications

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 4.0 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

Above the health goal3

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.9ppt

Highest sample, Sept. 18, 2023; found in 14 of 14

2026 average: 2.8 ppt

The highest sample was 3.9 ppt: below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029, but above its health goal of zero. Averaged over four quarters at one entry point, the way both Pennsylvania’s limit and EPA’s are judged, the highest was 3.3 ppt, for the year to June 30, 2024: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 14 ppt and below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 2.8 ppt.

What handles it

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.9ppt

Highest sample, Sept. 18, 2023; found in 4 of 14

2026: not found

The highest sample was 1.9 ppt: below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029, but above its health goal of zero. Averaged over four quarters at one entry point, the way both Pennsylvania’s limit and EPA’s are judged, the highest was 0.88 ppt, for the year to June 30, 2024: below Pennsylvania’s limit of 18 ppt and below EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its three samples.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.5 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits6

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

5.8ppm

Highest sample; found in 27 of 27

2026 average: 4.2 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 5.8 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 4.2 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 6.5 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

25.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 18.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 25.7 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 46.5 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 12 samples averaged 18.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 24 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

27.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 20.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 27.8 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 53 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 12 samples averaged 20.9 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 25.3 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.63ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.63 ppm, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.65 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

3.9ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 19, 2025; found in 11 of 11

2026 average: 3.7 ppt

The highest sample was 3.9 ppt, below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 3.7 ppt.

What handles it

Also found, with no federal limit

EPA measured these PFAS to learn how often they occur. None has a legal limit or a health goal yet.

CompoundHighest sampleFound inCertification claim
PFHxA3.0 ppt2 of 2None covers it
PFHpA2.0 ppt1 of 2NSF/ANSI 53: Total PFAS Reduction
14 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

  • Uranium

PFAS, from Pennsylvania’s own monitoring

  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFHxS
  • PFNA
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

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: PFOA Reduction, PFOS Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: PFOA, PFOS, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA); Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS); Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: PFOA, PFOS, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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 PFAS, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 5 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Pennsylvania’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Western Berks Water 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. 11, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026; Pennsylvania’s PFAS results run from May 25, 2023 to July 6, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • SPL - Reading

    Reading, PA · about 11 miles

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

    (610) 375-8378

  • Pure-Test Laboratory

    Myerstown, PA · about 11 miles

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

    (717) 866-2234

  • M. J. Reider Associates Inc

    Reading, PA · about 13 miles

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

    (610) 374-5129

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 PA3060066. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Berks County

All Pennsylvania utilities

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