Kettering, Ohio

What is the Water Quality in Kettering, Ohio?

Compared to other US cities, Kettering water quality ranks in the high range for contamination excluding Lead.

Most of their 31 contaminants have cancer-causing attributes.

• Chloroform is at extremely high levels: 21x health guidelines.
• PFOS is at very high levels: 15x health guidelines.

Let’s look closer at what’s in Kettering water.

What’s in Kettering water?

Here are the top 5 chemical compounds in your water and what health issues they can potentially cause:

1. 1,4-Dioxane – Potential effect: Cancer
2. Chloroform – Potential effect: Cancer
3. Hexavalent Chromium – Potential effect: Cancer
4. Nitrate and Nitrite – Potential effect: Cancer
5. PFOS – Potential effect: Cancer

These are five of the 28 contaminants analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org).

16 of these contaminants are rated as exceeding EWG Health Guidelines.

Does Kettering have Lead contamination?

Yes, Kettering has lead in its water. The most recent Lead samples collected in 2019 showed concentrations up to 13.7 parts per billion.

The legal limit for lead is 15 parts per billion. Being well-below this level is a good thing.

• Concentrations between 3.8 ppb and 15 ppb put a formula-fed baby at risk of elevated blood lead levels. Read more about the symptoms of Lead in water.

There is no safe level of lead for humans.

• The good news is that 99.99% of the lead can be filtered out.

See the What Can You Do? section below to learn how to filter out contaminants.

Where does Kettering’s water come from?

Kettering’s water comes from the Little Beaver Creek watershed.

The Little Beaver Creek watershed is in Impaired condition. Aquatic life, fish and shell consumption, and recreational activities are all impaired.

Ideally, a water source would be rated in Good condition.

Learn more from How’s My Waterway

See below for what you can do to improve Kettering’s water.

What Can You Do?

Information about water quality in Kettering can be surprising.

But there are things you can do in your home to clean up your water.

To Remove Lead and Other Contaminants In Your Home:

There is one solution that beats Brita, PUR, and expensive whole house systems.

• It costs less per gallon.
• Needs fewer filter changes.
• And it doesn’t make your water taste weird.

• Use Berkey filters with activated carbon to filter out at least 75% of contaminants in your drinking water.
  • Berkey filters can also remove up to 99.99% of Lead in Kettering water.
  • Brita can filter 17 of 28 contaminants and Lead depending on the filter.
  • Note: We may receive a commission if you decide to purchase filters through links on this page.
• To filter out 27 of the 28 contaminants, consider a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system for your house.
  • These are typically more expensive than pitchers to purchase, but are much more effective.
  • They have the benefit of filtering out heavy hitters like:
    • 1,4-Dioxane
    • Barium
    • Chloroform
    • Chromium (hexavalent)
    • Fluoride
    • Haloacetic acids – HAA5 and HAA9
    • Molybdenum
    • Nitrate
    • Nitrite
    • Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)
    • Strontium
    • Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)

In Your Community:

Contact your local government officials and put pressure on them to invest in cleaner waterways and upgraded city water filtration and treatment.

Go to: https://www.ketteringoh.org/ to find contact information for your local officials.

Water Quality in Other Ohio Cities

Ohio Water Quality Page