Martins Ferry Public Water System, OH
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3.5 ppb (monitoring period 2025-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
About Martins Ferry Public Water System
Martins Ferry Public Water System serves about 6,980 people through 4,581 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Belmont County, Ohio. EPA system ID: OH0701212; phone on file: 740-579-2707. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
That is up 1.9 ppb from 1.6 ppb in the period ending 2024. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Martins Ferry Public Water System is 3.5 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.5 ppb |
| 2024 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,079 Ohio systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.7 ppb; 1 are over 15 ppb right now and 27 have gone over at some point. Martins Ferry Public Water System's 3.5 ppb sits at the 91st percentile in Ohio and the 85th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
13 other systems share Belmont County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Martins Ferry Public Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 Pws | 26,822 | 0 (not detected) |
| Barnesville | 6,500 | 4.99 ppb |
| St. Clairsville, City Of Pws | 5,097 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bellaire Public Water System | 4,278 | 0 (not detected) |
| Shadyside Public Water System | 3,689 | 3.19 ppb |
| Bridgeport Public Water System | 2,830 | 4.8 ppb |
| Powhatan Point Public Water System | 1,592 | 0.8 ppb |
| Bethesda Public Water System | 1,382 | 0 (not detected) |
| Flushing Village Pws | 803 | 6.34 ppb |
| York Township Water Authority Pws | 481 | 1.7 ppb |
Next steps for Martins Ferry, OH
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Martins Ferry, OH may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Martins Ferry Public Water System whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.