Bethlehem residents have enjoyed municipal water service for more than 250 years since the Moravian founders built America’s first public waterworks on the Monocacy Creek in 1762.
Today, the Water & Sewer Resources Department provides drinking water to 36,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers, and sanitary sewer collection service for 25,000 customers. Our service territory includes the City of Bethlehem plus portions of 11 surrounding municipalities in Northampton and Lehigh Counties with a total population of approximately 120,000. Surface water sources in the Pocono Mountains contain 10 billion gallons of fresh water capacity and are surrounded by 23,000 acres of protected watershed. We have ample capacity in both our water and sewer systems to meet the needs of our growing communities.
The City takes great pride in the quality of water we serve our customers. In fact, Bethlehem’s water has been named the best tasting water in the Lehigh Valley in numerous taste tests. Our water quality meets or exceeds all federal and state regulations. It is also “very soft” or low in hardness. This helps prolong the life of your plumbing, household appliances, and industrial equipment, while maintaining the softness of your clothes and skin. A team of dedicated employees are committed to provide the highest quality services for our customers.
Our efforts are recognized by our peers and federal and state authorities who have bestowed Bethlehem with awards and accolades. The City has been the recipient of the prestigious AWOP Award for eleven consecutive years which recognizes excellence in filtration plant performance.