Cuyahoga County, Ohio: drinking water report. Cuyahoga County – Cleveland and its inner-ring suburbs – draws water from Lake Erie, serving about 1.2
Cuyahoga County – Cleveland and its inner-ring suburbs – draws water from Lake Erie, serving about 1.2 million residents through the Cleveland Division of Water and several smaller suburban systems. Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes, which makes it both highly productive biologically and more susceptible to contamination and algal blooms than its deeper neighbors.
Harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie's western basin produce microcystins that Cleveland's treatment plants must remove. While Cleveland's intake is in the central basin (less affected than the western basin), bloom events can push toxins eastward. The Ohio EPA requires enhanced monitoring during bloom season.
UCMR5 data shows low-level PFAS detections in Cuyahoga County water systems. Cleveland's industrial heritage – the Cuyahoga River famously caught fire in 1969 – left legacy contamination in sediments and groundwater throughout the county. According to the Ohio EPA's 2024 compliance reports, the Cleveland system met federal standards but aging distribution infrastructure remains a concern. An estimated 73,000 lead service lines are still in service in the Cleveland system, according to a 2023 city inventory.
Lake Erie provides an abundant source, but lead from old service lines and building plumbing is the primary household-level risk in Cuyahoga County.
Check your water for monitoring data specific to your area. A filter certified for both lead and PFAS reduction offers the broadest protection. Our water filter guide covers which types do both effectively. Pull your detailed report for historical data, and see our Ohio page for statewide context.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Cuyahoga County, OH.
The EPA places Cuyahoga County, OH in Zone 2 - a moderate-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level between 2 and 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.
81% of homes in Cuyahoga County, OH were built before 1980, and 37% 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 Cuyahoga County, OH averages 8.7 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