Water Utility Consumer Confidence Report 2026

A hard copy of this report can be obtained from the Water & Sewer Billing Office:
203 S. 5^th Street
Goshen, IN 46528

Pay your Water & Sewer bill online and find the latest news.

Our Commitment to You

The Goshen Water Utility remains dedicated to providing safe, dependable drinking water, maintaining and modernizing infrastructure, making strategic long-term investments, and ensuring transparency for all customers. Thank you for your continued support as we work to improve our community’s water future.

 The Goshen Water Utility provides this annual report to ensure you are well-informed about your water. It outlines the quality of our drinking water, what it contains, and how its quality compares to the Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and State of Indiana standards for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2025.

About Our Water

Goshen is committed to providing you with all the information you may want about the quality of the water you drink. You can call the Goshen Water Utility at 574-534-5306 or you can ask questions about water quality at a Goshen Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.

Meetings are held on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Thursday of the month at 4 p.m. in the Police and Court building (111 E. Jefferson Street). Meeting dates are subject to change; check the city calendar page for the latest information.

All information in this report has been collected through a prescribed sampling schedule in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the USEPA.

Our Water Origins

Goshen is located on the Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain, which is in the Northern Moraine and Lake Region. The Goshen Water Department has two groundwater treatment plants. The North Plant has six wells and four high-service pumps that can produce 5.9 million gallons of water per day. The Kercher Plant has two wells and three high-service pumps that can produce 5.1 million gallons per day.

Safety Guidelines

In order to ensure tap water is safe to drink, the USEPA has prescribed regulations to limit the amount of certain contaminants that can be present in the water provided by the public drinking water system. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants that may be present in bottled water. The City’s water quality requirements are every bit as stringent for safety as the requirements for bottled water. The Goshen Water Utility is required to treat our water according to USEPA regulations to ensure the protection of public health.

Common Contaminants in Most Water Systems

Drinking water from any source may contain small amounts of contaminants. The contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Microbial Contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.

Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and metals, can be naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, and mining or farming operations.

Pesticides and Herbicides may come from a variety of sources, such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff and residential uses.

Organic Chemical Contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production operations, and can also result from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff and septic systems.

Radioactive Contaminants can be naturally occurring or the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

Keeping Out Contaminants

The best way to maintain high-quality drinking water is to prevent contaminants from reaching drinking-water sources. The City of Goshen completed its Wellhead Protection Plan update in 2022, meeting the requirements from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. 

You can learn more about Goshen’s efforts to secure your groundwater’s sources by reading the current planning document on this website, or at Goshen Public Library (601 S. Fifth Street), or the Goshen Water Department (308 N. Fifth Street).

Water Systems and Lead

To meet USEPA lead line identification and removal requirements, Goshen Water Utility completed a city-wide inventory in 2025 to document customer water line materials. While some homes in older parts of the community have galvanized lines connected to the water main by short, flexible lead sections known as “goosenecks,” no lead service lines were found. To check the water service line material status for a property connected to the Goshen Water Utility, visit the “Lead-Safe” project page.

Regular sampling within the Goshen Water Utility consistently shows lead levels below USEPA and IDEM limits. While replacing lead goosenecks is not required due to their short length and limited risk, the Goshen Water Utility is proactively replacing residential galvanized service lines when a leak develops, or the service line is exposed due to a public works project. 

The Goshen Water Utility is responsible for providing high-quality drinking water and removing lead service-lines if found, but it cannot control the variety of materials used in the plumbing in private structures. Because lead levels may vary over time, lead exposure is possible even when your tap sampling results do not detect lead at one point in time. 

You can help protect yourself and your family by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family’s risk such as

• Using a filter certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead is effective in reducing lead exposures. Follow the instructions provided with the filter to ensure the filter is used properly.
• Use only cold water for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula. Boiling water does not remove lead from water.
• Before using tap water for drinking, cooking, or making baby formula, flush your pipes for several minutes. You can do this by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry, or a load of dishes. 

There is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups, especially pregnant people, infants (both formula-fed and breastfed), and young children. Some of the health effects to infants and children include decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can also result in new or worsened learning and behavior problems. The children of persons who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy may be at increased risk of these harmful health effects. Adults have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems. Contact your health care provider for more information about your risks.

If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your water tested, contact the Goshen Water Utility at 574-534-5306 Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available on the epa.gov website.

Possible Precautions

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Contaminants may be found in drinking water that cause taste, color, or odor problems. 

These types of problems are not necessarily causes for health concerns. For more information on taste, odor, or color of drinking water, please contact the Goshen Water Utility. Immunocompromised persons, such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants, can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about use of drinking water from their healthcare providers. USEPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline, 800-426-4791.

Water Quality Data

The Water Utility tests a minimum of 30 samples per month in accordance with the Total Coliform Rule for microbiological contaminants. The Utility also measures disinfectant residuals to ensure control of microbiological growth. These tables list all the contaminants detected in City water during the last testing cycle. Their presence does not indicate the water posed a health risk. In fact, none of the test results indicated a violation of federal or state standards for water quality and public health. All the information contained in this report has been collected in accordance with rules and regulations of IDEM and USEPA. IDEM requires the Goshen Water Utility to monitor for certain contaminants at a frequency less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from one year to another. Some of the data, although representative of the water quality, may be more than one year old. The Goshen Water Utility had no violations in 2025.

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Public Utility Notice: Water System Improvements in Goshen

Northside Water System Upgrades

The Goshen Water Utility secured $5 million in State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) grant funding to reduce lead in the public water system. This investment supports a $10 million construction project launched at the end of 2025 to replace 458 water service lines.

In addition to service replacements, new water-system infrastructure is being installed along Oakridge Avenue, Queen Street, Michigan Street, Second Street, and Third Street (west of State Road 15 and south of Wilden Avenue). Work began during the winter of 2025–2026, starting with water-service replacements. Full right-of-way reconstruction will continue throughout 2026 and extend into spring 2027.

These upgrades are part of the utility’s ongoing effort to ensure safe drinking water and a reliable distribution system for all Goshen customers.

Expanding Goshen’s Water Resources

Goshen currently operates two water treatment plants: the original North Water Treatment Plant (in operation since the 1930s) and a second facility built in the 1990s in the Goshen Industrial Park. Both rely on groundwater from the regional aquifer.

To support long-term water reliability and accommodate future growth, the Water Utility has determined that an additional aquifer source and a new treatment plant are needed. With support from the Goshen Redevelopment Commission, the City has purchased 70 acres north of the Goshen Airport for a new water treatment facility, new wellheads, and a protective buffer area.

The new facility is currently in the design phase, with bidding expected in spring 2027. Construction is anticipated to continue through 2028.

Find information about water quality, wellhead protection and other department services on our landing page.