Northampton County, Pennsylvania: drinking water report. Northampton County borders Lehigh County in the eastern Lehigh Valley, home to about 320,000…
Northampton County borders Lehigh County in the eastern Lehigh Valley, home to about 320,000 residents. Easton, Bethlehem, and surrounding communities draw from the Delaware River, Lehigh River, and local groundwater. The county's position at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers provides abundant source water options.
UCMR5 data shows low-level PFAS detections in Northampton County systems. The county's mix of former industrial sites, agricultural land, and suburban development creates varied water quality across the different provider service areas. According to the Pennsylvania DEP's 2024 monitoring data, county systems met federal standards.
Bethlehem's former Bethlehem Steel site – one of the largest brownfield redevelopment projects in the country – left legacy contamination in soils and groundwater in the southern part of the county. While the drinking water system draws from upstream sources not affected by the steel plant contamination, the overall environmental legacy shapes public perception of water quality.
Northampton County benefits from abundant river sources and generally clean water. The industrial legacy is primarily a soil and groundwater concern rather than a drinking water issue.
Check your water for current data. A carbon filter improves taste, while reverse osmosis provides broader protection. Our water filter guide covers options. Pull your detailed report, and visit our Pennsylvania page for statewide data.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Northampton County, PA.
The EPA places Northampton County, PA in Zone 1 - the EPA's highest-risk category, where the predicted average indoor radon level is above 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
61% of homes in Northampton County, PA were built before 1980, and 33% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Northampton County, PA averages 8.3 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide
12 public water systems serving Northampton County, PA have EPA lead testing on record. The reported lead sample skews toward systems that already flagged a problem, so its exceedance rate is not directly comparable with other areas. 19 water systems serving Northampton County, PA carry a health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violation.
| Most-cited violation type | Systems affected |
|---|---|
| Ground Water Rule | 13 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | 3 |
| Nitrate | 3 |
| Lead and Copper Rule | 2 |
| Surface Water Treatment Rule | 2 |
Source: EPA Lead and Copper Rule 90th-percentile tap sampling and EPA SDWIS Safe Drinking Water Act enforcement records, aggregated from the public water systems serving this county. Figures are counts of water systems, not a test of any individual home or tap.