Lancaster County water quality report
Lancaster City Water treats water from the Conestoga and Susquehanna rivers for the city and surrounding townships. Farm country wells across the county are known for hard water and nitrates.
Lancaster City Water measured 235 mg/L at its Conestoga plant and 107 mg/L at its Susquehanna plant. Farm country wells on limestone are often very hard.
What the Lancaster County reports show
Lancaster County water has 1 result over a legal limit in the latest reports.
Lancaster City Water
Source: Lancaster City Water, 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report and 2025 Yearly Water Analysis
| What was measured | Result | Limit or guide | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 235 mg/L from the Conestoga plant, 107 mg/L from the Susquehanna plant | No limit. Over 120 ppm is hard | Worth watching |
| PFOA | Three state violations at the Conestoga plant, where the running average was above the limit. The city is evaluating treatment upgrades | 14 ppt state limit, 4 ppt federal limit | Above limit |
| Lead at customer taps | 7.0 ppb at the 90th percentile, 1 of 52 homes above the action level | 15 ppb action level | Worth watching |
| Total trihalomethanes | 75.2 ppb highest running average, range 11.9 to 148 | 80 ppb | Worth watching |
| Haloacetic acids | 56 ppb highest running average, range 9.0 to 93.6 | 60 ppb | Worth watching |
| Nitrate | 5.15 to 6.60 ppm | 10 ppm | Worth watching |
| Sodium | 41.2 mg/L | 20 mg/L guide for people on low sodium diets | Worth watching |
How to read a water quality report
Federal law requires every community water system to publish a report, often called a Consumer Confidence Report, by July 1 each year. It lists what the utility found in its water and how those results compare with safety limits.
A report describes water as it leaves the treatment plant and travels through the main pipes. It cannot tell you about the plumbing inside your home, which is where lead and copper usually come from. Private wells have no report at all, so testing is up to the owner.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| MCL | Maximum contaminant level, the legal limit for drinking water |
| MCLG | The goal level with no known health risk. Often lower than the legal limit |
| Action level | For lead and copper, the level that requires a utility to take extra steps if more than 10% of homes tested exceed it |
| 90th percentile | Nine out of ten homes tested were at or below this number |
| Running average | An average of recent quarters. Many limits are judged this way, so one high sample is not a violation on its own |
| ppm, ppb, ppt | Parts per million, billion, and trillion. One ppt is like one drop in about 20 Olympic swimming pools |
| ND | Not detected at the lab’s reporting level |
Pennsylvania limits for PFOA and PFOS are 14 and 18 parts per trillion. The EPA has also set a 4 part per trillion limit for each, with a later compliance date.
How we tag results
| Result | When we flag it |
|---|---|
| PFOA and PFOS | Above federal limit when the result is over the EPA’s 4 ppt limit. Utilities have until 2031 to meet it, so this is not a violation yet. Worth watching when only individual samples are over 4 ppt |
| Disinfection byproducts | Worth watching when any result reaches 75% of the limit |
| Lead | Worth watching when any home tested is above the action level or the 90th percentile is above 5 ppb. There is no known safe level of lead for children |
| Nitrate | Worth watching above 5 ppm, half the limit |
| Sodium | Worth watching above the 20 mg/L guide for people on low sodium diets |
| Hardness | Worth watching above 120 ppm, where water is considered hard |
| Above limit | A violation or a result over the legal limit in the report |
On a well? There is no report for you
Pennsylvania does not regulate private wells, so nobody publishes results for your water. Public water reports describe public systems only.
Our guide to testing your private well in Pennsylvania covers what to test for, how often, and how to read the results.
Not sure what your report means for your home?
Bring it to a free consultation. We will walk you through every line and tell you honestly whether treatment is worth it.
Results summarized from each utility’s most recent published annual water quality report. Utilities update their reports every year, and results at your tap can differ from system averages. Last reviewed October 2026.
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