Columbia man claims contaminants at Columbia Water Co. tower exceed maximum federal level

JULISSA RODRIGUEZ | FOR LNP | LANCASTERONLINE

What happened: [On April 13] Columbia resident Adam Copenhaver told Mountville Borough Council that water test results sampled at a tower operated by Columbia Water Co. at 224 Eagle Path, Mountville, exceeded the federal maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes by 36% at 109 parts per billion versus 80 parts per billion, on Oct. 14, 2025. Columbia Water provides Mountville, Columbia and several other communities in Lancaster and York counties with public water.

More: Copenhaver asserted TTHMs are a carcinogen. According to Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, total trihalomethanes, or TTHMs, are a byproduct of a reaction between a disinfectant and natural organic matter in water.

Acknowledgement: Council members thanked Copenhaver for bringing this issue to their attention.

Public matter: The information Copenhaver provided is readily available on DEP’s website, where LNP | LancasterOnline found the most recent sample date for 224 Eagle Path, Mountville was Jan. 12 of this year when TTHMs were measured at 19.5 parts per billion.

For comparison: TTHM levels for the other dates in 2025 besides the October water sample Copenhaver referenced were the following, according to DEP: Jan 14 at 23.6 parts per billion; April 14 at 29.5 parts per billion; and July 14 at 91.5 parts per billion.

Columbia Water statement: “Recently, statements shared online have suggested that our water system is automatically in violation of federal drinking water standards because one TTHM sample result was above the maximum contaminant level. That is not how the federal compliance rule is applied,” Columbia Water posted on its website to explain how the annual average is calculated. EPA sets the maximum contaminant level of TTHMs based an annual running average at each monitoring station based on the most recent four quarters of sampling results at that location.

More: After the meeting, Copenhaver said he maintains that the human body does not consume TTHMs by the annual average; contaminants are consumed per day. David Lewis, president and general manager of Columbia Water Co., did not immediately respond to a reporter’s attempts to reach him for comment.