WATER TREATMENT · 69 MIN FROM OUR GREENVILLE OFFICE
Oil City’s lead record shows a number in every round: the 90th percentile has run between 0.00151 and 0.006 mg/L from 2016 to 2025, all under EPA’s 0.015 mg/L action level. A tap test tells you where your house falls.
Serving our communities since 1967
USGS sampled Venango County wells between 1928 and 2023. That shows what is common here, and your own water test sets the size of the system.
Schedule a water test- Moderately hardMedian 3.9 gpg; 43% of 7 wells hard or very hardThe softener
- Iron43% of 7 wells above 0.3 mg/L; median 0.1 mg/LThe iron system
- Manganese40% of 5 wells above 0.05 mg/LThe iron system
- pHMedian pH 6.3; 60% of 5 wells below 6.5Blue-green stains
- Town waterthe Oil City public water system: about 9,608 people, its own wellsWater softeners
- Not on recordBacteria, nitrate, PFAS, arsenicWater testing
- 7 wellsIn the USGS record for Venango County. Each well counts once, as the median of its samples.
- 246 wellsDomestic wells on file within 5 miles of Oil City, a median 100 feet deep.
- 69 minFrom our Greenville 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 OIL CITY
The Equipment Oil City
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.
- MODERATELY HARD AT THE MEDIAN
Water softeners
43% of sampled Venango County wells were hard or very hard, at a median of 3.9 grains per gallon. Your softener is sized to your own test.
EXPLORE - 43% OF WELLS ABOVE THE IRON LINE
Iron & manganese removal
43% of sampled wells were above 0.3 mg/L of iron and 40% 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 Greenville office, about 69 minutes from Oil City. What it finds decides which equipment you need and the order it goes in.
EXPLORE
WATER TREATMENT IN OIL CITY
What Oil City Water Says,
and What We Do About It.
Oil City’s lead rounds, one by one
EPA records a lead 90th percentile above zero in all four rounds for the Oil City system: 0.006 mg/L for the round ending 2016, 0.00182 in 2019, 0.00256 in 2022 and 0.00151 in 2025. Each one is under the 0.015 mg/L action level. The 90th percentile is the level that 90 percent of sampled homes came in at or below, so it describes the system, not a single faucet.
The system feeds a polyphosphate inhibitor for corrosion control, to protect pipes. Lead at a tap mostly comes from the plumbing it passes through, so two houses on one street can differ. A certified-lab lead test gives your own number, and if it finds lead, reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink is the usual answer.
Private wells and the county pH record
For homes on private wells, the rock mapped at the town center is Late Devonian: the Corry Sandstone through Riceville Formation, with sandstone, shale and siltstone. PaGWIS, the state’s collection of driller logs, holds 246 depth logs within 5 miles. The median well is 100 feet, with the middle half from 58 to 145, and rock starts at a median 20 feet. Yields have a median of 15 gallons per minute and a middle half of 10 to 20.
The Venango County record leans acidic: of the 5 wells USGS sampled for pH, the median was 6.3, and 60 percent came in under 6.5. Acidic water eats at copper pipe and leaves blue-green stains on fixtures. A calcite neutralizer raises the pH before the water reaches the plumbing, so it usually sits early in the treatment line.
Fifteen wells and the Seneca Farms plant
The Oil City system serves 9,608 people through 4,527 connections, all from groundwater. EPA lists 15 active wells, among them Collecting Well #1 and Collecting Well #2, and one treatment plant, Seneca Farms. Three steps are listed: a polyphosphate inhibitor for corrosion control, chlorine added for disinfection, and 4-log treatment of viruses, a disinfection level that knocks out nearly all of them.
Nothing on that list removes iron or hardness or adds chloramine, so the disinfectant at your faucet is chlorine. A CityLux takes it out at the point of entry for the whole house. If a chlorine taste is what you notice most, the chlorine taste page explains it. Anything else in city water is a question for a tap test, and the full water report comes from the city system.
The Venango County record
USGS samples from Venango County wells, taken 1928–2023: 43% of wells hard or very hard, 43% over the iron line, 60% below pH 6.5. The full record, measure by measure, is on the Venango County water treatment page.
From our Greenville office
Oil City is about 69 minutes and 44 miles by road from our Greenville office, and the municipalities around it get the same crews and the same drive: Rouseville, Cranberry Township, Cornplanter Township, Sugarcreek, Oakland Township, Franklin, President Township, Sandycreek Township. Nearby on the map:
- Rouseville, PA
- Franklin, PA
- Sugarcreek, PA
- Cooperstown, PA
- Polk, PA
- Pleasantville, PA
- All of Venango County
Source: Water quality: USGS National Water Information System results for Venango County wells, served through the Water Quality Portal, sampled between 1928 and 2023, 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: USGS groundwater site inventory for Venango County, 13 wells with a recorded depth, retrieved 2026-09-14.
A LITTLE CLARITY
Oil City Questions.
Straight Answers.
Is Oil City’s lead level going up or down?
It moves between rounds rather than in one direction. The 90th percentile was 0.006 mg/L in 2016, 0.00182 in 2019, 0.00256 in 2022 and 0.00151 in 2025, each under the 0.015 mg/L action level. The only way to know your own tap is a certified-lab test at your faucet.
What causes blue-green stains from well water near Oil City?
Usually water with a low pH dissolving copper from the plumbing. The county’s well record leans acidic, so it is a common thing to check. A pH reading from a water test confirms it, and a calcite neutralizer then raises the pH before the water reaches your pipes and fixtures.
Does a neutralizer make Oil City well water harder?
It can add some. Calcite dissolves into the water as it raises the pH, and that adds a little hardness. In a home that is already on the hard side, a LuxSoft softener after the neutralizer handles it. Our test measures both pH and hardness, so the order is set from your own numbers.
Do you test water in Oil City?
Yes. Chatfield’s water test and consultation cover Oil City from our Greenville office, about 69 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 Oil City
Starts with a Test.
Call or fill out the form to schedule your water test. We’ll come out from Greenville, measure what is in the water, and recommend the equipment that fits.