Drink Up! It’s National Water Quality Month
August 17, 2026August is one of our favorite months of the year (well, except for the humidity), because it’s National Water Quality Month. That means we get 31 days to celebrate the clean, high-quality tap water our LCA team works so hard to supply.
Most of us take water for granted. After all, we turn the tap and water flows out — it’s simply a part of everyday life. But turn back the clock about 200 years, and the infrastructure that brings water right to your kitchen sink didn’t even exist. Want a drink? Dig a well by hand, or hike each day to the closest spring and hope the cattle stayed downstream. Need to wash your clothes? Scrub them in the river (upstream from the tannery, of course) or use pails to fill up a tub.
But today, clean, safe tap water is the norm. And here in the U.S., we use a lot of it.
For instance, did you know the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates the average American family uses 300 gallons of water a day?
And that’s only what we use at home. (Psst! Take shorter showers!) Agriculture accounts for about 70 percent of the world’s freshwater use.
Water is also a vital ingredient for manufacturing. In the U.S. alone, industry consumes more than 18.2 billion gallons of water per day!
And all that H20-on-demand requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work.
Two Congressional Acts Protect Water Quality
We can trace National Water Quality Month back to two Congressional acts passed in the early 1970s.
In 1972, the federal government passed The Clean Water Act, which made it illegal to dump large amounts of toxic materials into bodies of water. This placed standards on surface water quality for human consumption or recreation.
The Safe Drinking Water Act, passed in 1974, protects groundwater and public water system quality.
And that’s where we come in. In a nutshell, LCA is a public water utility that gathers, cleans, and redistributes water through a network of infrastructure that stretches across two counties and 14 municipalities, including the City of Allentown.
Our Water Sources
LCA’s drinking water comes from five primary sources: the Schantz Spring; Crystal Spring; the Little Lehigh Creek; several groundwater wells; and the Lehigh River.
Because of the high quality of our local spring and groundwater resources, little treatment (beyond chlorine for disinfection purposes) is necessary to ensure a safe supply of drinking water. We treat water from the Little Lehigh Creek and the Lehigh River at our water filtration plant in the City of Allentown.
Even though we’re drawing from such high-quality water sources, we still run tests daily to ensure our water meets or exceeds state Department of Environmental Protection standards.
Want to learn more about your water? You can view the water quality report based on your property address with our interactive map: About Your Water | Lehigh County Authority These reports are available all year long—not just during National Water Quality Month.
Behind the Scenes: How We Test Your Water
Every time you turn on the tap, you expect clean, safe, reliable water. Making that happen takes a team of dedicated professionals working behind the scenes every day.
Our accredited laboratories play a critical role in protecting public health. Led by Gretchen Schleppy, Laboratory Manager, a team of five skilled technicians conducts testing that helps ensure our water continues to meet strict state and federal standards.
LCA operates two accredited laboratories: one that supports drinking water operations and another that supports wastewater treatment. Together, these labs perform thousands of tests each year. Technicians collect and analyze samples from throughout our service area, monitoring water quality, and helping operators respond quickly if issues arise.
The laboratory team brings expertise in chemistry, biology, microbiology, environmental science, and laboratory technology. Their work includes routine compliance testing, process monitoring, regulatory reporting, and supporting the annual Water Quality Report.
But protecting water quality doesn’t start in the lab. It starts with all of us.
“Everyone has a role to play in protecting our water sources,” says Schleppy. Pollution that enters streams, rivers, and waterways upstream can eventually affect the sources used for drinking water. Simple actions such as picking up pet waste, properly disposing of wipes, and safely discarding unused medications can make a big difference in keeping local waterways clean.
Water testing is one of the many ways LCA works every day to safeguard public health. From collecting samples in the field to analyzing results in the lab (like technician Colleen Lentz in the accompanying photo), our team is committed to delivering the safe, reliable water our communities depend on.
Because when it comes to water quality, every test matters.
What Do We Look For?
We perform a wide range of tests on our water for different conditions, substances, and parameters, including:
- chlorine
- inorganic compounds (substances such as nitrates and metals)
- total organic carbon
- alkalinity
- pH
- volatile organic compounds (carbon-containing compounds, not readily dissolved in water, usually found in gasoline, paint, dyes, degreasers, etc.)
- synthetic organic compounds (man-made compounds such as pesticides and PCBs)
In the accompanying photo, special process meters report test results.
Wondering what’s in your water? You can find out on our interactive Your Drinking Water page, or check the drinking water quality report for your service area.
Award-Winning Service
We couldn’t be more proud of the team that brings you safe, reliable water service, and National Water Water Quality Month is the perfect time to celebrate their hard work. LCA has received numerous awards because of their commitment to clean water.
Those include a prestigious Area Wide Optimization Program (AWOP) Award; a 15-year Directors Award presented to our Water Filtration Plant by the Partnership for Safe Water for our team’s “commitment to superior water quality,” and recognition for our watershed stewardship and resource recovery work.
“The public has a tremendous role in protecting the water quality of our local drinking water sources. Polluting a waterway upstream at a park can flow downstream and impact the sources we pull drinking water from,” Schleppy says. “Everyone can take steps like cleaning up pet waste and properly disposing of wipes and expired or unused medications.”
10 Ways to Make a Difference Today
Here are some simple, immediate steps you can take to conserve water:
- Wash your car at a car wash: It might cost more than washing your car at home. But taking your car to a car wash saves water and prevents toxic chemicals from being flushed down your storm drains. Some systems re-use the water. And professional car washes are required to drain into sewer systems so the water can be treated.
- Pick up after your pet: Animal waste contains harmful organisms, including E.coli, salmonella, and giardia. If you don’t pick up after your pet, storm water could wash these pollutants into our waterways. Animal waste is also high in nitrogen, which can cause algae blooms that, when they rot, kill fish and other aquatic organisms.
- Limit — or eliminate — the use of chemical fertilizers: After a heavy rainfall or watering, these chemicals can leach into nearby ground- and surface-water sources, causing nutrient pollution. Use organic materials, like compost, instead — or wait for drier weather.
- Do not flush expired or unwanted medication down the toilet: These products should never be flushed. Lehigh County has several collection options for safe disposal.
- Take used oil or antifreeze to a service station or recycling center: Don’t let these toxins run into a storm drain, where they will be washed into our rivers and streams. Promptly repair any vehicle leaks.
- Avoid antibacterial soaps or cleaning products unless directed by your health care provider: Not only are they toxic to marine life, studies have found they actually contribute to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- Take a shorter shower: The average shower, according to the EPA, lasts about eight minutes. (And we all know if there are teens in the house, that number isn’t even close!) Since the average showerhead has a water flow of 2.1 gallons per minute, each 8-minute shower uses more than 16 gallons of water! Across the U.S., we use more than one trillion gallons of water each year just for showering. (You can also install a WaterSense shower head.)
- Dispose of chemicals such as paints, pesticides, and other hazardous wastes properly: Our local municipalities have regular collection events to help ensure these toxins don’t end up in our waterways.
- Use a Rain Barrel: Collect rainwater to use for watering your lawn and garden. You’ll even save on your water bill.
- Dispose of fishing line, hooks, packaging, and bait cups in the trash: Not only are these unsightly along the banks of our waterways, they harm wildlife and introduce microplastics into the water.