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Community Water System · PWS PA3060045

Bern Twp Muni Auth

Reading, Pennsylvania 19605 - drinking water served from surface water sources to 1,800 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

1,800
People served
30
EPA violations
10
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 30 drinking-water violations at Bern Twp Muni Auth, 33% of them health-based - below the Pennsylvania per-system average.

30
Total EPA violations on record
33%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
1,800
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Bern Twp Muni Auth

Bern Twp Muni Auth is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 1,800 residents in Reading, Pennsylvania (Berks County) through 342 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 30 total violations for this system , of which 10 (33%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 14 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2023.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Surface Water Treatment Rule, recorded in 7 violations (TT, health-based). This system has not yet been sampled under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, so no PFAS detection data is available here.

Across Pennsylvania, EPA tracks 7,701 public water systems serving 12,630,061 people, with 1,159,868 cumulative violations and 68,517 health-based violations on record. About 97% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 150.6 violations. Statewide, 224 of 389 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (57.6%).

Bern Twp Muni Auth's 30 violations sit below the Pennsylvania average.

All figures above are sourced directly from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 public data releases and are updated as EPA publishes new reporting cycles.

Population Served
1,800
Total Violations
30
Health-Based Violations
10
Water Source
Surface Water

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
342
County
Berks
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
3
Monitoring Violations
14
Treatment Tech Violations
7

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 7 2009
Surface Water Treatment Rule MR 5 2014
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 4 2023
Coliform (TCR) MCL 3 2005
Cadmium MR 3 1988
Public Notice Other 2 2005
Chlorine MR 2 2014
Revised Total Coliform Rule RPT 2 2023

Verify This Water System

The figures above are aggregated from EPA's public databases. To verify the underlying records, or to file a complaint, request a Consumer Confidence Report, or check current monitoring status, go directly to the federal and state regulators that enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act for Bern Twp Muni Auth.

Federal Source of Truth

EPA SDWIS, Federal Reports

EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) holds the federal compliance record for every regulated public water system. Open the system-level report by PWS ID:

View PWS ID PA3060045 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Pennsylvania Drinking Water Authority

Pennsylvania DEP, Bureau of Safe Drinking Water is the primacy agency that licenses and inspects Bern Twp Muni Auth under EPA-delegated authority.

Open PA regulator portal

Source: Pennsylvania DEP, Bureau of Safe Drinking Water

Violation Timeline

Each row links to the EPA SDWIS public record for verification. Cross-reference the contaminant code on EPA's federal report to see violation dates, return-to-compliance status, and enforcement actions.

Year (latest) Contaminant Category Count EPA Record
2023 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 4 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 8000
2023 Revised Total Coliform Rule RPT 2 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 8000
2014 Surface Water Treatment Rule MR 5 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 0200
2014 Chlorine MR 2 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 0999
2009 Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 7 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 0200
2005 Coliform (TCR) MCL 3 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 3100
2005 Public Notice Other 2 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 7500
1988 Cadmium MR 3 SDWIS / PA3060045 / 1015

How Bern Twp Muni Auth Compares

Cross-reference this system's record against state averages and the federal MCL framework for context.

Metric Bern Twp Muni Auth Pennsylvania avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 30 150.6 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 10 8.9 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 57.6% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 1,800 1,640 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 7,701 regulated public water systems in Pennsylvania.

Federal MCL reference, Safe Drinking Water Act thresholds ▼
Contaminant Federal MCL / Action Level Note
Lead 0 mg/L (Action Level: 0.015 mg/L) Lead and Copper Rule treatment technique
Arsenic 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb) Health-based MCL since 2006
Total Coliform Treatment technique (RTCR) Indicator organism, monitoring trigger
PFOA / PFOS (PFAS) 4.0 ppt each (final 2024 rule) Compliance deadline 2029 (EPA proposed extending to 2031, not yet final as of May 2026)
Nitrate (as N) 10 mg/L Acute health risk for infants

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bern Twp Muni Auth water safe to drink? ▼
Bern Twp Muni Auth (PWS ID: PA3060045) has 30 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 1,800 people using Surface Water sources.
How many people does Bern Twp Muni Auth serve? ▼
Bern Twp Muni Auth serves 1,800 people in Reading, Pennsylvania. It is a Local-owned system using Surface Water water sources with 342 service connections.
What type of violations does Bern Twp Muni Auth have? ▼
Bern Twp Muni Auth has 30 total violations: 10 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 14 monitoring/reporting violations, and 7 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Bern Twp Muni Auth water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Bern Twp Muni Auth under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Bern Twp Muni Auth use? ▼
Bern Twp Muni Auth uses Surface Water as its primary water source. It is classified as a Community Water System (CWS), serving residential populations year-round.
Where does this data come from? ▼
All data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Q4 2025. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This system's figures are rendered directly from EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.