Community Water System · PWS PA3480046
City of Bethlehem
Operator location Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - larger served population (> 3,309) at 117,259 people served; 270 SDWIS violations on record from surface water sources.
- 117,259
- People served (this PWS) Larger third of systems
- 270
- EPA violations (this PWS) Upper third of systems
- 6
- Health-based (this PWS) Middle third by health-based share
- No PFAS
- UCMR5 (this PWS) Tested, none detected
City of Bethlehem standing, high SDWIS violation third
117,259 people served (SDWIS) - larger served population (> 3,309). Corpus terciles use 29,740 systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). Health-based share 2% is middle-third health share (≤ 23%). UCMR5: UCMR5 tested, none detected. Population rank #392 of 29,740 among systems serving 500+.
The verdict
City of Bethlehem sits in the upper third of the sitemap cohort by violation count (270), so the tables below sample a dense compliance trail rather than a near-clean ledger. Population served is large (117,259; larger served population (> 3,309)), so household exposure scale sits behind the violation mix. Health-based share is 2% (middle-third health share (≤ 23%)). UCMR5 tested this system and reported no PFAS above the minimum reporting level.
- #392 of 29,740
- Population · /systems
- #15 of 1,340
- Population · PA
- 270
- Total EPA violations on record
- 2%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
Population ordinals match the sitemap cohort (systems serving 500+, population_served DESC). See methodology · corpus placement.
Based on EPA SDWIS violation history and UCMR5 PFAS testing only, not water taste, odor, infrastructure age, or contaminants outside the federally tracked set.
System Details
- System Type
- Community
- Owner Type
- Local
- Connections
- 36,709
- County
- Northampton
- School/Daycare
- No
- MCL Violations
- 0
- Monitoring Violations
- 249
- Treatment Tech Violations
- 6
Violation History
Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.
| Contaminant | Category | Count | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | MR | 42 | 2022 |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | MR | 29 | 2022 |
| Surface Water Treatment Rule | MR | 15 | 2025 |
| Chlorine | MR | 14 | 2019 |
| Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule | MR | 11 | 2005 |
| Coliform (TCR) | MR | 8 | 2012 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | RPT | 6 | 2018 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | MON | 6 | 2019 |
| Surface Water Treatment Rule | TT | 6 | 1996 |
| Consumer Confidence Rule | Other | 5 | 2013 |
| BHC-GAMMA | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Methoxychlor | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Toxaphene | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Dalapon | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Diquat | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Endothall | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Glyphosate | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Picloram | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Dinoseb | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Hexachlorocyclopentadiene | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Carbofuran | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Atrazine | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| LASSO | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Heptachlor | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Heptachlor epoxide | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| 2,4-D | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Benzo(a)pyrene | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| 1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| ETHYLENE DIBROMIDE | MR | 4 | 2020 |
| Chlordane | MR | 4 | 2020 |
Violation Count vs. the National Corpus
City of Bethlehem has 270 recorded EPA violations, 89% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500+ people nationwide carry fewer, and 11% carry more. 2% of this system's own violations are health-based (6 of 270), and it ranks #392 of 29,740 by population served among that same cohort.
EPA violations vs. the national water-system corpus
Public water systems serving 500+ people (EPA SDWIS)
270 Higher than most more violations than 89% of 29,740 water systems
the national water-system corpus, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more water systems. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source EPA SDWIS · 2026-05-15
How many violations vs. how serious, among peer systems
City of Bethlehem plotted against 29 peer public water systems (500+ people served), by total violation count (x) and the share of those violations that are health-based (y). The crosshair sits at this sample's own median on each axis. A high violation count does not automatically mean a serious record: most monitoring and reporting violations are minor, not health-based.
Violation volume vs. health-based share
PFAS Testing Results (UCMR5)
Results from EPA's Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. 0 of 116 samples detected PFAS.
| Contaminant | Date | Result | MRL | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFHpS | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 6:2 FTS | 8/9/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 4:2 FTS | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 8:2 FTS | 8/9/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFPeA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFEESA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFBA | 8/9/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFPeS | 8/9/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFMPA | 8/9/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| NMeFOSAA | 8/9/2024 | <6.00 ppt | 6.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| NEtFOSAA | 8/9/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFTrDA | 8/9/2024 | <7.00 ppt | 7.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFTA | 8/9/2024 | <8.00 ppt | 8.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| NFDHA | 8/9/2024 | <20.00 ppt | 20.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFNA | 8/9/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFBS | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFMBA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFHxS | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| HFPO-DA | 8/9/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFOS | 8/9/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFOA | 8/9/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFDA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFHxA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFUnA | 8/9/2024 | <2.00 ppt | 2.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 11Cl-PF3OUdS | 8/9/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 9Cl-PF3ONS | 8/9/2024 | <2.00 ppt | 2.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| ADONA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFDoA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFHpA | 8/9/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| NEtFOSAA | 5/10/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFTrDA | 5/10/2024 | <7.00 ppt | 7.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFDoA | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFTA | 5/10/2024 | <8.00 ppt | 8.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| ADONA | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| NMeFOSAA | 5/10/2024 | <6.00 ppt | 6.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 9Cl-PF3ONS | 5/10/2024 | <2.00 ppt | 2.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFHpS | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFBS | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFHpA | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFHxS | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFNA | 5/10/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFOS | 5/10/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFOA | 5/10/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 11Cl-PF3OUdS | 5/10/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFHxA | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFPeS | 5/10/2024 | <4.00 ppt | 4.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| HFPO-DA | 5/10/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| PFBA | 5/10/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 6:2 FTS | 5/10/2024 | <5.00 ppt | 5.00 ppt | Not Detected |
| 4:2 FTS | 5/10/2024 | <3.00 ppt | 3.00 ppt | Not Detected |
Population served record for City of Bethlehem
EPA SDWIS lists 117,259 people served and 36,709 connections for this PWS, confirm the service-area footprint on the federal report before comparing to municipal census totals.
Sources: EPA SDWIS · Pennsylvania DEP, Bureau of Safe Drinking Water
Nationwide peers
270 violations · 117,259 served: nearest cross-state SDWIS matches.
Cross-state systems with comparable violation load
Nearest cross-state community systems (500+ served) by total SDWIS violations on record.
Cross-state systems with similar served population
Nearest cross-state systems by EPA SDWIS population_served (same 500+ sitemap gate).
What to do with City of Bethlehem
Use this system's EPA-reported record as a starting filter, not a final verdict.
- See how every tracked system in Pennsylvania compares on the same EPA violation measures. Pennsylvania systems
- Check whether PFAS was detected at this system under UCMR5 testing. PFAS guide
- Find and compare another public water system by name or PWSID. Search systems
EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 figures are informational only, not a substitute for a certified lab test of your own tap water.
Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.