Public water system · PA4140815
ActivePenns Cave
At a glance
Penns Cave (PWSID PA4140815) is an active transient non-community water system in Centre County, Pennsylvania. It reports serving 75 people through 1 service connection. Its primary water source is groundwater under influence of surface water, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
75
Service connections
1
Primary source
GU
Groundwater under influence of surface water
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Penns Cave compare with other water systems in Centre County?
By EPA's size categories, Penns Cave is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Centre County has 76 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 2,375 people per system, and accounts for less than 0.1% of the 180,520 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Pennsylvania, the 7,217 active systems average 1,741 people each. Nationally, the average active transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Penns Cave is about half of that figure.
What does “transient non-community water system” mean?
A transient non-community water system serves places where people do not stay long, such as gas stations and campgrounds, and regularly serves at least 25 people a day for at least 60 days a year. Pennsylvania has 4,429 active transient non-community water systems, 61% of the state's 7,217 active systems. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules. 40 Pennsylvania systems (0.6%) list groundwater under influence of surface water as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Penns Cave?
EPA lists Penns Cave as privately owned. The PA state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 42 of the 76 active systems in Centre County (55%) are also privately owned.
Does Penns Cave have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026. The violations listed here began between April 2024 and April 2026. By type: 9 monitoring and reporting, 2 monitoring and 1 reporting. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (5 of them). EPA lists 7 as archived and 5 as resolved. Archived means the violation was not marked resolved but is more than five years past the end of the noncompliance period, so it no longer counts toward current compliance status. Resolved means at least one resolving action is on record: the system returned to compliance, the rule no longer applies, or no further action was needed.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Filter) · code 36 | Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200 | No | Archived |
| 2026-03-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38 | Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300 | No | Archived |
| 2025-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Filter) · code 36 | Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-06-01 | Monitoring and reportingFailure Submit Filter Profile/CPE Report · code 29 | Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300 | No | Archived |
| 2025-04-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2025-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Filter) · code 36 | Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38 | Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300 | No | Archived |
| 2025-03-11 | ReportingReport Sample Result/Fail Monitor (RTCR) · code 4B | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-03-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Filter) · code 36 | Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200 | No | Archived |
| 2025-03-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38 | Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300 | No | Archived |
| 2024-10-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38 | Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300 | No | Resolved |
The 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, newest first.Labels and codes come from EPA's SDWIS reference tables. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found. "Health-based" marks violations of a legal limit or required treatment.
Penns Cave: frequently asked questions
Who runs Penns Cave?
Penns Cave (PWSID PA4140815) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the PA state drinking water program.
How many people does Penns Cave serve?
Penns Cave reports serving 75 people through 1 service connection in Centre County, Pennsylvania.
Where does Penns Cave get its water?
EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater under influence of surface water. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules.
Does Penns Cave have any drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found.
Is Penns Cave's water safe to drink?
AquaCensus shows EPA compliance records, not current water test results, so it cannot say whether the water is safe at a given moment. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the PA state drinking water program.
Where can I find Penns Cave's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Penns Cave is a transient non-community water system, so it is not required to publish one; like every public water system, it must notify the people it serves about violations under EPA's public notification rules.
Other water systems in Centre County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State College Boro Water Auth | Centre | 72,000 | Community | Surface water |
| Penn State Univ | Centre | 37,000 | Community | Groundwater |
| Paw Philipsburg | Centre | 20,865 | Community | Surface water |
| Bellefonte Borough Water Auth | Centre | 9,500 | Community | Groundwater |
| College Twp Water Authority | Centre | 6,000 | Community | Groundwater |
| Mountaintop Reg Water Auth | Centre | 3,456 | Community | Groundwater |
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About this data
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: AquaCensus, “Penns Cave, PWSID PA4140815, Pennsylvania”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/pennsylvania/penns-cave-pa4140815 (data as of October 1, 2026).