The state EPA issued a citation against Youngstown’s water department

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The city’s water department will no longer use a testing lab after the business failed to analyze water samples in a timely manner leading to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s issuing a citation against the city.

The citation didn’t include a monetary fine, but the city has to send a notice about the issue to its water customers in next month’s bill as required by the EPA, said Water Commissioner Harry L. Johnson III.

There is no problem with the water, he said.

The city is mandated by the EPA to test its water for specific contaminants at various times during the year.

The city collected samples that were shipped to Belmont Labs in Englewood, Ohio. But Belmont experienced equipment malfunctions that resulted in failing to analyze the samples, according to a water department statement.

This was the first problem the city has had with Belmont, a company it has used for water testing for the past nine years, according to the statement. The city is no longer using Belmont.