The Village of Yellow Springs Water Department provides safe, reliable drinking water to the community by operating and maintaining the Village’s water supply, treatment, storage, and distribution systems. The department continuously monitors water quality to meet or exceed Ohio Environmental Protection Agency standards while ensuring dependable service, adequate water pressure, and reliable fire protection for homes, businesses, and the community.
Water Quality Reports
Water Quality ReportsHow Your Water Gets To You
How Your Water Gets To You
Water Services & Responsibilities
The Water Department is responsible for operating and maintaining the Village’s water supply, treatment, storage, and distribution systems. This includes monitoring water quality, maintaining water lines, valves, hydrants, and related infrastructure, managing water storage facilities, supporting system pressure, and responding to water service concerns. Through ongoing maintenance, testing, and system improvements, the department works to provide safe, reliable drinking water and dependable service to residents, businesses, and the community.
Water System Overview
The Village’s water system is made up of three primary components: a Water Supply Well Field, Water Treatment Plant, and Water Storage Towers. These components work together to provide a dependable supply of drinking water and maintain reliable service throughout the community.
The Village’s water distribution system includes approximately thirty miles of water lines, ranging in size from two inches to sixteen inches in diameter. The system includes approximately two hundred fire hydrants and a variety of pipe materials, including cast iron, ductile iron, galvanized, and plastic lines.
Water Treatment Plant
The Village’s Water Treatment Plant is a Class I facility that uses a multi-step treatment process to improve water quality and prepare water for distribution throughout the community.
The treatment process removes naturally occurring iron and manganese, softens water, and provides disinfection using sodium hypochlorite. The plant has a production capacity of one million gallons per day.
Water Storage
The Village operates two elevated storage tanks that provide a combined storage capacity of two million gallons. These towers help maintain consistent water pressure throughout the system and provide storage capacity to meet daily demand and emergency needs.
Each tower is approximately seventy-three feet tall and holds one million gallons of water.
Water System History
The Village purchased its water system from Antioch College around 1927. As the community grew in the mid- to late-1950s, additional water capacity became necessary. A new Water Treatment Plant and well field were established at the current Jacoby Road location in 1963, and a new storage tank was constructed at Gaunt Park.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Village completed construction of a new Water Treatment Plant in December 2017 to replace the previous facility, which was more than fifty years old. The new plant uses advanced treatment processes to remove iron and manganese, improve water quality, and produce softer water for the community.
The Village’s water quality improvements have received recognition, including being awarded “Best Tasting Water in Rural Ohio” in 2023 and again in 2025 at the Ohio Rural Water Conference.
Filtration removes many contaminants, including certain parasites and bacteria. Disinfection is still necessary to eliminate remaining pathogens and maintain a protective disinfectant level as water travels through the distribution system to homes and businesses.
Yes, but only partially. The Village’s treatment process uses pellet softening to reduce water hardness by approximately fifty percent. However, Village water is still classified as hard water.
Many residents choose to use personal water softeners. Homeowners should adjust their settings based on current water hardness levels to avoid unnecessary salt use and over-softening.
The decision to use a home water softener is up to each homeowner. Some residents choose to use softeners to help protect appliances, reduce soap buildup, and improve the feel of water when bathing or washing.
The Village publishes annual Water Quality Reports with information about water testing results, treatment processes, and compliance with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency standards.