Is Lima, OH tap water safe?
Supplied by Lima City Water System · serves 65,619 people (27,113 connections) · Surface water · EPA ID OH0200811
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Summary
No federal limits exceeded in EPA data.
- PFAS
- Detected, below limit3 of 29 PFAS found at least once. All averages below the federal limits.
- Lead
- Below action level0 ppb (parts per billion) at the 90th percentile: 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below it. Action level 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in Nov 2027. Monitoring period ending Jun 2026. Your home's pipes can make yours higher.
- Violations
- Resolved4 health-based violations since 2016, most recently May 2026. One required an urgent public notice within 24 hours (the kind behind boil-water notices), most recently Dec 2016. What to do if you get a notice.
- Built before 1986, or not sure what your service line is made of? Check your service line and test your tap. Utility data can't show your pipes.
- Got a boil-water or do-not-drink notice? What each notice means and what to do.
- Want to reduce what was found? Filters for these results.
- Tested your own tap? Compare your result with these numbers. Moving? Compare this system with another.
- Read Lima City Water System's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report). It lists every regulated contaminant tested and is usually on the utility's website or mailed with your bill, and you can also request it at (419) 228-5462. EPA: how to find it.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 1 entry point tested May 2023 to Feb 2024. "Average" is the highest entry-point average (non-detects counted as zero), the way EPA compares UCMR 5 results to the limits. ppt = parts per trillion. These results do not determine compliance.
| Contaminant | Highest average |
|---|---|
| PFOA Not detected Limit 4 ppt | – |
| PFOS Not detected Limit 4 ppt | – |
| PFHxS Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| PFNA Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| Hazard Index (a combined score for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS, where above 1 is over the limit) Not detected Limit 1 | – |
| PFBS Not detected Guideline 2,000 ppt | – |
| PFBA Detected, below limit Guideline 6,000 ppt | 1.32 ppt |
| PFHxA Detected, below limit Guideline 3,000 ppt | 0.82 ppt |
| PFPeA Detected, no limit | 3.95 ppt |
29 PFAS tested, 3 detected at least once. "Not detected" means below EPA's reporting limit (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical), not proven zero. PFAS not listed were not detected. The limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and the Hazard Index were proposed for rescission in May 2026. That proposal is not final. Systems have until 2029 to meet the limits.
Lithium
Not detected in 4 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 0 ppb lead (Jan 2026 – Jun 2026). Below action level
2 reported results in EPA's records are far above anything physically plausible (likely a unit or data-entry error) and are not used in the summary.
Highest since 2016: 0.62 ppb (Jun 2023).
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2026 – Jun 2026 | 0 ppb |
| Jul 2025 – Dec 2025 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 2025 – Jun 2025 | 0 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jul 2024 – Dec 2024 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 2024 – Jun 2024 | 0 ppb |
| Jul 2023 – Dec 2023 | 0.12 ppb |
| Jan 2023 – Jun 2023 | 0.62 ppb |
| Jan 2022 – Dec 2022 | 0.48 ppb |
| Jan 2021 – Dec 2021 | 0.2 ppb |
| Jan 2018 – Dec 2018 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 2015 – Dec 2017 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 2012 – Dec 2014 | 0 ppb |
Copper 90th percentile: 33.5 ppm (Sep 2004), action level 1,300 ppb.
Lead comes from pipes and fixtures, not the source water, so it varies home to home. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 sampled homes were at or below it. More on lead.
Violations
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| May 2026 | A required step to remove or kill germs (filtration, disinfection or fixing a contaminated well) was not done properly. EPA record: Surface Water Treatment Rule · Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) (limit ) Resolved |
| Jan 2022 – Apr 2024 2 times | The running annual average for TTHM was above the legal limit. EPA record: TTHM · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · measured 0.087 mg/l (limit 0.080 mg/L) Resolved |
| Dec 2016 | The water was cloudier than allowed at least once. Cloudiness can shield germs from disinfection. Urgent public notice required What that means EPA record: Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule · Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR) (limit ) Resolved |
Health-based violations mean a contaminant exceeded a limit or a required treatment step was missed. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or reports were late or missing, so the water's quality during that time is unknown. The total includes every violation in EPA's records, most of them paperwork.
Earlier EPA testing (2013–2020)
| Contaminant | Highest | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 5.07 ppb | 300 ppb |
| Chromium-6 | 0.28 ppb | – |
| Molybdenum | 8.1 ppb | 40 ppb |
| Vanadium | 0.48 ppb | 21 ppb |
| Strontium | 0.89 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
Where it serves
Lima
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 45801, 45804, 45805, 45807
Nearby utilities
- Findlay City Public Water System Findlay · 33 mi
- Springfield City Public Water System Springfield · 58 mi
- Wright-Patterson AFB Area A Public Water System Wright-Patterson AFB · 63 mi · PFAS above limit
- Wright-Patterson AFB Area B Public Water System Wright-Patterson AFB · 63 mi · PFAS above limit
- Yellow Springs Village Public Water System Yellow Springs · 66 mi · PFAS above limit
- Dayton Public Water System Dayton · 66 mi · PFAS above limit
Questions
Is Lima tap water safe to drink?
Most of Lima gets its water from Lima City Water System. Lima City Water System had 4 health-based violations since 2016, all since resolved. EPA testing found no PFAS above the federal limits. Federal data can't tell you about your own pipes: lead comes from service lines and plumbing, so test your tap if your home was built before 1986. For the official word, read the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Does Lima water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of Lima City Water System found 3 PFAS at least once. None of the averages were above the federal limits.
What is the lead level in Lima water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for Lima City Water System is 0 ppb, for the period ending Jun 2026. The federal action level is 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in November 2027. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below this number. Individual homes can be higher.
Check these numbers yourself
Every figure on this page comes from public EPA records. You don't have to take our word for it:
- EPA's own report for OH0200811: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID OH0200811).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- The utility's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report): ask Lima City Water System at (419) 228-5462, or see EPA's guide to finding it.
Found something that doesn't match? Tell us and we'll check it against EPA's records. How we check our data.
Source: U.S. EPA drinking water records and PFAS testing (UCMR 5). How we read the data.