Is Akron, OH Tap Water Safe to Drink?

Where Does Akron Get Its Water?

Akron, OH draws its drinking water from surface water sources managed by two utilities. The primary provider is Akron City's public water system, which serves the large majority of residents across the metro area. A second system, Aqua Ohio serving portions of the Massillon area, also provides water to some addresses mapped to the Akron region.

The aggregate data identifies two water treatment plants serving these systems. Akron City operates its own water treatment plant, and Aqua Ohio operates a separate facility. Both plants process source water before it reaches your tap.

Because the two systems operate independently, the exact treatment steps and finished water quality can differ somewhat between them, though both are subject to the same federal and Ohio state drinking water rules.

How Is Akron Tap Water Treated?

Akron's water goes through several treatment steps before reaching homes. The process includes coagulation, sedimentation, and filtration stages, along with powdered activated carbon treatment, which helps capture a wide range of organic compounds and some trace contaminants.

Disinfection is carried out using both free chlorine and a combined chlorine approach, which kills bacteria and viruses and keeps water safe through the distribution pipes to your tap. A small residual disinfectant remains in the water by design, which can occasionally affect taste or odor.

The treatment train also includes slow sand filtration at some points in the system, a well-established method that uses natural biological processes to remove particles and pathogens. These multiple treatment barriers reflect a layered approach to keeping finished water safe.

What's in Akron Tap Water?

The most notable finding in recent EPA testing is lithium, detected at a peak of 10.5 micrograms per liter. EPA has established a non-regulatory health reference level of 10 micrograms per liter for lithium in drinking water. One ZIP code in the Akron area recorded a value above that benchmark. There is currently no federally enforceable maximum contaminant level for lithium in drinking water.

Several PFAS compounds were also detected across Akron's water supply. PFTrDA, HFPO-DA, 6:2 FTS, and 8:2 FTS were all found in samples, with peak measured values at or near their respective reporting limits, ranging from 0.005 to 0.007 micrograms per liter. None of these specific compounds exceeded their associated screening benchmarks in the data.

PFAS are a broad family of manufactured chemicals used in industrial and consumer products for decades. Lithium can enter surface water naturally from geological sources or from industrial discharge. The aggregate data does not specify the exact origin for Akron's detections, so these general sources are noted only as background context.

Health Risk Profile for Akron

Lithium at 10.5 micrograms per liter slightly exceeds EPA's health reference level of 10 micrograms per liter. This is a non-regulatory screening benchmark, not an enforceable federal legal limit. Exceeding it does not mean the utility has violated federal law, but it does signal that long-term exposure at that level may be worth attention, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Infants, pregnant individuals, and people with kidney conditions may be more sensitive to lithium exposure through drinking water. For PFAS, EPA has noted that young children and pregnant or nursing individuals face higher risk from long-term low-level exposure, even when measured values fall below enforcement thresholds.

A point-of-use filter certified to NSF/ANSI standards (NSF/ANSI is an independent third-party certification label you can look for on the product box) is the most practical way to reduce both PFAS and lithium at the tap. For PFAS, look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification (reverse osmosis) or NSF/ANSI P473. Reverse osmosis systems also reduce lithium effectively. NSF/ANSI 53 certified filters address some heavy metals but are less effective for PFAS.

The EPA is still evaluating the science on low-level PFAS and lithium exposure, and enforceable limits for some of these compounds are evolving. The detections in Akron are at very low concentrations, and the overall compliance picture for the system is otherwise within federal requirements.