Allentown sits at the crossroads of Pennsylvania’s industrial past and its aging water infrastructure — and residents are dealing with the consequences. The Lehigh Valley’s largest city has a water story that involves crumbling mains, lead concerns, and the long shadow of heavy industry.
Where Allentown’s Water Comes From
The Lehigh County Authority (LCA) and the City of Allentown’s water system draw primarily from the Little Lehigh Creek and several groundwater wells. In 2013, the city leased its water and sewer systems to LCA in a controversial 50-year concession deal worth $220 million — one of the largest public-private water arrangements in Pennsylvania.
The system serves roughly 165,000 customers across Allentown and surrounding communities. Treatment includes conventional filtration, disinfection, and corrosion control. LCA has invested in infrastructure upgrades since taking over operations, but the system’s age presents ongoing challenges.
The Water Main Problem
Allentown has earned an unfortunate reputation for water main breaks. The city’s water distribution system includes pipes dating back over a century, and breaks have been a chronic issue — sometimes dozens per year in the worst stretches. A particularly dramatic break in 2011 sent water gushing down a major street, and the pattern has continued.
Old cast iron and ductile iron mains corrode over time, and when they break, they can introduce sediment, bacteria, and other contaminants into the distribution system. LCA has been replacing aging mains on an accelerated schedule, but with hundreds of miles of pipe in the ground, it’s a decades-long project.
These breaks aren’t just inconvenient. They can trigger boil water advisories, disrupt service for hours or days, and compromise water quality for surrounding neighborhoods.
Lead Service Lines: A Statewide Crisis Hitting Allentown
Pennsylvania has more lead service lines than almost any other state — an estimated 160,000 to 300,000 statewide. [NEEDS VERIFICATION: current statewide LSL estimate] Allentown, with housing stock dating primarily from the early-to-mid 1900s, has a significant number of them.
LCA has been conducting a lead service line inventory as required by the EPA’s revised Lead and Copper Rule. Homes built before 1986 are the most likely to have lead service lines, lead solder in copper plumbing, or both.
Lead testing results from the system have generally stayed below the EPA’s action level of 15 ppb at the 90th percentile, but that metric can mask individual homes with much higher levels. If you live in an older Allentown home and haven’t had your water tested, it’s worth doing.
LCA offers information about its lead service line replacement program, though like most utilities, funding and logistics mean the work takes years to complete.
Bethlehem Steel and the Industrial Legacy
You can’t talk about water quality in the Lehigh Valley without talking about Bethlehem Steel. Just across the river in Bethlehem, the steel giant operated one of the largest industrial complexes in the world for over a century before closing in 1995.
The environmental legacy is significant. Steel production involved coke ovens, blast furnaces, and chemical processing that generated heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The former Bethlehem Steel site has undergone environmental remediation, but contamination from decades of heavy industry doesn’t disappear overnight.
Other industrial operations throughout the Lehigh Valley — textile mills, cement plants, chemical manufacturers — also left their mark on local waterways and groundwater. The Lehigh River itself has a long history of industrial discharge, though water quality has improved significantly since the Clean Water Act.
EPA’s ECHO database shows multiple facilities in the Allentown-Bethlehem area with Clean Water Act permits and compliance histories worth monitoring. [NEEDS VERIFICATION: current number of active NPDES permits in the immediate Allentown area]
Groundwater Contamination
Parts of the Lehigh Valley rely on groundwater, and several contamination plumes have been documented in the region. These include:
- VOC contamination from former dry cleaning operations and industrial solvent use
- Nitrate contamination in some agricultural areas of the surrounding county
- PFAS detections at various locations, including areas near airports and industrial sites where firefighting foam was used
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) maintains records of groundwater contamination sites, and several in the Allentown area have required monitoring or remediation. [NEEDS VERIFICATION: current status of specific DEP-tracked groundwater contamination sites in Lehigh County]
What the Data Shows
LCA publishes annual Consumer Confidence Reports detailing water quality testing results. Recent reports show compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act standards, but several contaminants are detected at measurable levels:
- Disinfection byproducts (TTHMs and HAA5) from chlorine treatment — detected but below MCLs
- Lead and copper — 90th percentile results below action levels, but individual samples vary
- Nitrates — detected in some source water, particularly from groundwater wells
- Turbidity spikes — occasionally elevated, particularly during heavy rain events that affect source water
The system’s reliance on both surface water and groundwater means it faces a broader range of potential contaminants than systems with a single source.
PFAS in the Lehigh Valley
PFAS contamination has been detected at multiple locations in the Lehigh Valley, including near the Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) where aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) was used in firefighting training. Several private wells near the airport have shown elevated PFAS levels.
For the public water system, PFAS testing is ongoing as utilities prepare to comply with the EPA’s 2024 PFAS maximum contaminant levels. LCA has reported PFAS detections in source water. [NEEDS VERIFICATION: specific PFAS levels reported by LCA in most recent testing]
What Allentown Residents Should Do
Find out what’s in your pipes. Contact LCA to determine whether your home has a lead service line. If your home was built before 1986, assume lead solder may be present in your plumbing.
Test your water. LCA offers lead testing, and independent labs can provide more comprehensive panels including PFAS, VOCs, and heavy metals. This is especially important if you’re on a private well.
Flush before drinking. Run your cold water tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (longer if the water hasn’t been used for several hours) to clear any lead that may have leached from pipes.
Consider filtration. A point-of-use filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 can reduce lead. Reverse osmosis systems provide broader protection including PFAS, nitrates, and disinfection byproducts.
Stay informed about main breaks. Sign up for LCA’s notification system. After a main break in your area, run your taps until the water clears and consider a boil advisory if one is issued.
If you’re concerned about your water quality, a certified water treatment professional can test your water and advise on solutions.