Drinking water quality · 2025
· Verified
· PWSID OH6900112
What's in Columbus, OH tap water
3 contaminants in Columbus, OH's water sat at or above a federal limit, led by Simazine at 15.0x the limit.
- !3 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is Simazine at 15.0x
- !7 open monitoring or reporting violations
- !21 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 6 never appear in this report
+How this score is calculated
Every system starts at 100. Points come off for measured levels, for the federal violation record, and for how much of the core regulated set the utility actually reported. All three inputs are the utility's own published numbers and EPA's own records.
- −60 contaminants at or above a federal limit
- −0 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- −0 open health-based violations
- −9 open monitoring / reporting violations
- −0 health-based violations resolved in the last 5 years
- −0 core regulated contaminants never reported (21/27)
A 90–100 · B 80–89 · C 70–79 · D 60–69 · F below 60. A system reporting under a third of the core set is capped at C however clean its numbers look — a short report is not a clean bill of health.
Full grading methodology, constant for constant →What to worry about
- Simazine15.0× the federal limit0–0.06 mg/L · limit 0.004 mg/L
- Bromate1.3× the federal limit0–13 ug/L · limit 10 ug/L
Classified as a probable human carcinogen; the EPA sets a strict maximum contaminant level.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- TTHM1.0× the federal limit16.5–83.9 ug/L · limit 80 ug/L
Long-term exposure above the federal limit is linked to liver, kidney, and central-nervous-system effects and increased cancer risk.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
+67 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| HAA5 | 4.5–41.1 ug/L | 60 ug/L |
| Turbidity | 0.68 NTU | 1 NTU |
| Nitrate | 6.3 mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| Chlorine Total | 1.28–1.59 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Atrazine | 0–0.84 ug/L | 3 ug/L |
| Fluoride | 0.79–1.03 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Cadmium | 0.001 mg/L | 0.005 mg/L |
| Copper | 0.049 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Barium | 0.02 mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| Bromodichloromethane | 8.5 ug/L | — |
| Bromoform | 6.4 ug/L | — |
| Chloroform | 16.6 ug/L | — |
| Dibromochloromethane | 8.7 ug/L | — |
| Ammonia | Not detected | — |
| Bromide | 0.055 | — |
| Chloride | 52 mg/L | — |
| Cyanide | Not detected mg/L | 0.2 mg/L |
| Sulfate | 130.5 mg/L | — |
| Aluminum | 0.016 mg/L | — |
| Antimony | Not detected mg/L | 0.006 mg/L |
| Arsenic | Not detected mg/L | 0.01 mg/L |
| Beryllium | Not detected mg/L | 0.004 mg/L |
| Calcium | 34 | — |
| Iron | Not detected mg/L | — |
| Lead | 0.0 mg/L | 0.015 mg/L |
| Magnesium | 8 | — |
| Mercury | Not detected mg/L | 0.002 mg/L |
| Nickel | Not detected | — |
| Potassium | 4.2 | — |
| Selenium | Not detected mg/L | 0.05 mg/L |
| Sodium | 58 | — |
| Thallium | Not detected mg/L | 0.002 mg/L |
| Zinc | 0.256 mg/L | — |
| Cryptosporidium | Not detected | — |
| Giardia lamblia | Not detected | — |
| Total Coliform | 0 % | — |
| Alachlor | Not detected mg/L | 0.002 mg/L |
| Carbofuran | Not detected mg/L | 0.04 mg/L |
| Carbon Tetrachloride | Not detected mg/L | 0.005 mg/L |
| Chlorobenzene | Not detected mg/L | 0.1 mg/L |
| Chromium | Not detected mg/L | 0.1 mg/L |
| Cis Dichloroethylene 12 | Not detected mg/L | 0.07 mg/L |
| Dichloroethane 12 | Not detected mg/L | 0.005 mg/L |
| Dichloroethylene 11 | Not detected mg/L | 0.007 mg/L |
| Dichloropropane 12 | Not detected mg/L | 0.005 mg/L |
| Oxamyl | Not detected mg/L | 0.2 mg/L |
| Pentachlorophenol | Not detected mg/L | 0.001 mg/L |
| Picloram | Not detected mg/L | 0.5 mg/L |
| Styrene | Not detected mg/L | 0.1 mg/L |
| Trans Dichloroethylene 12 | Not detected mg/L | 0.1 mg/L |
| Trichlorobenzene 124 | Not detected mg/L | 0.07 mg/L |
| Trichloroethane 111 | Not detected mg/L | 0.2 mg/L |
| Twofourd | Not detected mg/L | 0.07 mg/L |
| Vinyl Chloride | Not detected mg/L | 0.002 mg/L |
| Alkalinity | 48 | — |
| Hardness | 115 | — |
| pH | 7.8 | — |
| Specific Conductance | 512 | — |
| TOC | 2.25–2.87 | — |
| Total Dissolved Solids | 313 mg/L | — |
| Benzene | Not detected mg/L | 0.005 mg/L |
| Dichloromethane | Not detected mg/L | 0.005 mg/L |
| Ethylbenzene | Not detected mg/L | 0.7 mg/L |
| Tetrachloroethylene | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Toluene | Not detected mg/L | 1 mg/L |
| Trichloroethylene | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Xylenes | Not detected ug/L | 10000 ug/L |
What this report doesn't tell you
6 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in Columbus, OH's data. Absent is not the same as absent-from-the-water — it means nobody published a number.
+Full detail: PFAS testing, water source, historical monitoring, and the federal violation record
Where your water comes from · EPA SDWIS
Columbus, OH's drinking water comes from ground water, drawn from 3 sources.
Source
- WELL · 3
Treatment
- COLUMBUS GROVE VILLAGE
Distribution
Compliance history
Federal Safe Drinking Water Act violation & enforcement records (EPA SDWIS). A violation is a regulatory determination by the state or EPA — separate from the measured levels above.
- Treatment technique violationHealth-based5 violations on record · most recent Jan 2018resolved
- Other6 violations on record · most recent Nov 20246 open
- Reporting1 violation on record · most recent Jul 20251 open
Source: EPA SDWIS / ECHO. View the full federal record on EPA ECHO ↗