Fayette County, Pennsylvania: drinking water report. Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania has about 129,000 residents, with Uniontown as the county…
Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania has about 129,000 residents, with Uniontown as the county seat. The county draws from surface sources and groundwater, with the Municipal Authority of the Township of South Union and other small authorities serving different areas. Coal mining, coke production, and steel manufacturing were the economic backbone for over a century, and the environmental legacy remains.
Abandoned mine drainage impairs over 110 miles of streams in Fayette County, according to the Pennsylvania DEP's 2024 assessment. The Youghiogheny River and its tributaries carry iron, manganese, and sulfate from hundreds of abandoned coal mines. Coke ovens that operated in the Connellsville area produced some of the world's finest metallurgical coke but left PAH contamination in soil and groundwater.
The former Latrobe-Arnold Municipal Airport and Connellsville Airport have documented AFFF use. Pennsylvania DEP's 2024 PFAS investigation found PFOS at 9 ppt in monitoring wells near the Connellsville facility. Marcellus Shale gas drilling adds a modern dimension – the county had over 400 active unconventional wells as of 2024.
Fayette County's layered contamination history – coal mines, coke ovens, and now gas drilling – makes private well testing essential. If your water shows orange staining or a metallic taste, mine drainage metals are the likely cause, but testing confirms the specific contaminants present.
Check your water for available data. For mine drainage metals, whole-house oxidation filters are the standard treatment. For PFAS and other compounds, reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap adds targeted protection. Our water filter guide covers both. Get your detailed report for local trends, and visit our Pennsylvania page for statewide data.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Fayette County, PA.
The EPA places Fayette County, PA 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.
76% of homes in Fayette County, PA were built before 1980, and 41% 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 Fayette County, PA averages 7.7 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