COLUMBUS PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM
This is the federal compliance record — what EPA has cited this utility for. It is not a water quality test. A system with no violations has not been shown to be clean; it has nothing reported, which is a weaker claim than it looks. The actual measured contaminant levels are in the utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report, which every US utility must publish and which is not in this dataset.
1 citation · 2016
Health effects (EPA): Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrite in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.
Typical sources: Runoff from fertilizer use; leaking from septic tanks, sewage; erosion of natural deposits
EPA limit: 1
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| 2016-06-01 | Nitrite (measured as Nitrogen) | exceeded a maximum contaminant level | yes |
| 2012-06-12 | EPA contaminant code 0800 | other violation | no |
The health-based citations on this system name Nitrite (measured as Nitrogen). Reverse osmosis removes dissolved contaminants of this kind more completely than a carbon pitcher does, which filters taste and some organics but not dissolved solids. Read the current Consumer Confidence Report before buying — a citation is a point in time, not a description of your water today.
Test before you spendA federal record describes a utility. It cannot describe the pipe between the main and your kitchen, which is where lead usually comes from. Your own tap is the only thing that answers your own question.
$13.97
4.5★ 16,400 reviews · 2,000+ bought last month
Tells you your dissolved-solids number in about four seconds, which is where every decision on this site should start.
TDS is not a safety measurement. It counts dissolved solids and cannot see lead, PFAS or bacteria. It tells you how hard your water is and whether a filter is still doing anything — nothing more. Anyone selling you a system on a TDS reading alone is misleading you.
$13.60
4.6★ 1,800 reviews · 1,000+ bought last month
The one that has been in service vans for fifteen years. Holds calibration better than the cheap ones.
Same limitation as every TDS meter, and it looks like it was designed in 2009 because it was.
Source: US EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System, retrieved 2026-08-31 from data.epa.gov. Public water system OH2504412. Nothing on this page is written by hand — if a figure is not in EPA’s response, it does not appear here. All cities.
