WATER TREATMENT · 45 MIN FROM OUR CORTLAND OFFICE
Columbiana’s city water is well water softened with lime and soda ash, and all three lead rounds on record were recorded as zero. Rural wells nearby get no such treatment, so a test comes first there.
Serving our communities since 1967
USGS sampled Columbiana County wells between 1986 and 2016. That shows what is common here, and your own water test sets the size of the system.
Schedule a water test- Very hardMedian 16.7 gpg; 86% of 14 wells hard or very hardThe softener
- Iron79% of 14 wells above 0.3 mg/L; median 0.58 mg/LThe iron system
- Manganese86% of 14 wells above 0.05 mg/LThe iron system
- pHMedian pH 7.1; 0% of 14 wells below 6.5Blue-green stains
- Town waterthe Columbiana City public water system: about 6,727 people, its own wellsWater softeners
- Not on recordBacteria, nitrate, PFAS, arsenicWater testing
- 14 wellsIn the USGS record for Columbiana County. Each well counts once, as the median of its samples.
- 2,256 wellsDomestic wells on file within 5 miles of Columbiana, a median 120 feet deep.
- 45 minFrom our Cortland office by road. Same crews, same drive, for the whole area.
- WHAT YOUR TEST ADDS
- Your well’s numbers, not the county’s
- Bacteria and nitrate, which the record never covers
- Which equipment your water needs, and in what order
WHAT WE INSTALL IN COLUMBIANA
The Equipment Columbiana
Water Tends to Need.
Chatfield Water Systems is one line, with one system per problem. Your water test decides which ones you need and in what order; the county record shows which are likely.
- VERY HARD AT THE MEDIAN
Water softeners
86% of sampled Columbiana County wells were hard or very hard, at a median of 16.7 grains per gallon. Your softener is sized to your own test.
EXPLORE - 79% OF WELLS ABOVE THE IRON LINE
Iron & manganese removal
79% of sampled wells were above 0.3 mg/L of iron and 86% above the manganese line. The FerronX goes in at the point of entry, ahead of the softener.
EXPLORE - FIRST, EVERY TIME
A water test
Every system above starts with a test of your well or your tap water, from our Cortland office, about 45 minutes from Columbiana. What it finds decides which equipment you need and the order it goes in.
EXPLORE
WATER TREATMENT IN COLUMBIANA
What Columbiana Water Says,
and What We Do About It.
Eleven wells and lime-soda softening
The city system is groundwater from 11 active wells, most of them named: Elmgrove, Edgerton, Zetlers, Gravel, Witmer, two Metz wells, two Wonsetler wells, and Wells #14 and #15. The system lists one treatment plant and two storage tanks and serves 6,727 people through 3,382 connections.
EPA’s list reads like a softening plant. Lime and soda ash are added to take out hardness and manganese, and coagulation, pH adjustment and rapid sand filtration are all listed for softening too. Cascade and diffused aeration handle organics, iron, manganese and taste; permanganate controls taste and odor. Chlorine goes in before and after treatment, fluoride is added, and a polyphosphate is fed for iron. So whether a city home needs any more softening is a question for a hardness test.
Lead: zero in 2017, 2020 and 2023
EPA’s lead table has three rounds for the city system, for periods ending in 2017, 2020 and 2023. Each 90th percentile was recorded as zero, under the 0.015 mg/L action level. That is a system-wide figure, drawn from homes sampled across the city.
Your own faucet can still differ, because the last stretch of pipe and the fixtures belong to the house, not the utility. A lead sample sent to a certified lab settles it, and water testing is the place to start. If a result shows lead, an Atlas Filtri Oasis Sanic reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink is the usual answer, and it also covers nitrate, arsenic and PFAS at that tap.
Rural wells: bedrock at 35 feet
ODNR holds 2,256 well logs within 5 miles. Median depth is 120 feet and median yield 15 gallons a minute. Drillers reach bedrock at a median of 35 feet, and once a well is finished, water stands a median 33 feet below the surface. The rock mapped under the town is the Allegheny and Pottsville Groups: shale, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.
Well water reaches the house untreated, and in the county record, sampled wells show a median hardness of 16.7 grains per gallon. Iron is common too. Put the FerronX Iron System ahead of a LuxSoft softener so the softener’s resin isn’t doing the iron filter’s job.
The Columbiana County record
USGS samples from Columbiana County wells, taken 1986–2016: 86% of wells hard or very hard, 79% over the iron line, 0% below pH 6.5. The full record, measure by measure, is on the Columbiana County water treatment page.
From our Cortland office
Columbiana is about 45 minutes and 36 miles by road from our Cortland office, and the municipalities around it get the same crews and the same drive: Fairfield Township, Leetonia, Beaver Township, Washingtonville, New Waterford, Salem Township, Unity Township, Green Township, Springfield Township, Rogers. Nearby on the map:
- Leetonia, OH
- Washingtonville, OH
- North Lima, OH
- New Springfield, OH
- New Waterford, OH
- Greenford, OH
- All of Columbiana County
Source: Water quality: USGS National Water Information System results for Columbiana County wells, served through the Water Quality Portal, sampled between 1986 and 2016, retrieved 2026-09-14. Each well counts once, as the median of its samples. The 0.3 mg/L iron and 0.05 mg/L manganese marks are EPA secondary standards, which are aesthetic limits, not health limits. Well depth: Ohio Department of Natural Resources well-log database, 9,424 domestic wells in Columbiana County with a recorded depth, logged between 1925 and 2026, retrieved 2026-09-14.
A LITTLE CLARITY
Columbiana Questions.
Straight Answers.
Does Columbiana city water still need a softener?
Maybe not. The city system softens with lime and soda ash, and EPA’s list shows the step but not how many grains remain. A test at your tap gives the number. If it’s where you want it, spend nothing. If water still leaves scale on fixtures, the CityLux can finish the softening and take out the chlorine in one unit.
Is Columbiana’s water chlorinated?
Yes. EPA lists chlorine before treatment and again after it for disinfection, and chloramine is not on the list. Fluoride is also added. If you notice chlorine taste or smell, the CityLux removes it at the point of entry, so showers, laundry and every faucet in the house lose it, not only the kitchen tap.
Why do static level and yield matter for a well near Columbiana?
Static level is where water sits in the well at rest, and around here the median is 33 feet. Yield is how fast the well delivers, with a median of 15 gallons a minute. Together they help show whether a well can feed a backwashing iron filter and a softener without running short, which is worth knowing before any equipment is sized.
Do you test water in Columbiana?
Yes. Chatfield’s water test and consultation cover Columbiana from our Cortland office, about 45 minutes away by road. The test measures what is in your water and at what level, and any equipment it points to is quoted after the results.
Talk with the Chatfield team.
(724) 588-2652A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE GOES A LONG WAY
Know Your Water.
WATER PROBLEMSDo you have hard water?
The signs, the county hardness record, and how to confirm it.
WATER PROBLEMSOrange stains from your well water.
Read the stain, the county iron record, and what to note before you call.
WATER PROBLEMSBacteria in your water.
What a coliform result means, what to do now, and which treatment follows.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Better Water in Columbiana
Starts with a Test.
Call or fill out the form to schedule your water test. We’ll come out from Cortland, measure what is in the water, and recommend the equipment that fits.