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Athens Utilities

What EPA’s and Alabama’s records show in this utility’s water: PFAS and lithium; nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
43,431 people
Connections
14,477
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Athens, AL
County
Limestone
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Moderately hard
The 5 ZIP codes it serves

35611, 35612, 35613, 35614, 35671

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Sept. 19, 2023 to June 4, 2024.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2025.

Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total): Alabama’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 24, 2020 to Aug. 25, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: None of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule was found in this utility’s samples. None of the other 23 PFAS tested for was found either.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 4 ppt
PFOS4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 4 ppt
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 3 ppt
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 4 ppt
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 5 ppt
PFBSIndex onlyNot foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 3 ppt
Hazard IndexPFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS together1Doesn’t applyDoesn’t apply: no sampling location found two or more of the four
Results from EPA’s UCMR 5 sampling. “Below” is the lab’s reporting level: a result under it reads as not found, which is not the same as zero. The limits are EPA’s 2024 rule, with compliance due from 2029; EPA has since proposed changes to some of them, explained on each compound’s page. PFBS has no limit of its own and counts only toward the Hazard Index, which adds up the four, each against EPA’s health-based level, from each sampling location’s average, as EPA’s UCMR 5 summary does. It counts only where two or more of the four were found, and is above the limit from 1.5.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.64ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.64 ppb, in 2024: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.57ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.57 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits5

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

39.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 39.9 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 172 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 33.4 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

42ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 42 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 98.8 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 45.5 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.9ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 0.67 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.9 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.67 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.75 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.5ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 1.1 ppm

The highest sample, in 2025, was 1.5 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.1 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.58ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.58 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Alabama utilities above EPA’s PFAS limits
30 compounds tested and not foundIncluding all six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 rule. Below the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • Lithium
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFBA
  • PFBS
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxA
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFOS
  • PFPeA
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Moderately hard, 115 mg/L (6.7 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 2015 to 2026.

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.

Softeners compared at 6.7 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Alabama water hardness, utility by utility

Disinfectant

Athens Utilities reported disinfecting with chlorine, not chloramine, at its one sampling point, in its 2023 to 2024 sampling for EPA. It also reported chlorine dioxide and permanganate.

Chlorine leaves water that sits out for a few days, CDC says. A filter certified for it carries a chlorine claim under NSF/ANSI 42; a shower filter, a free chlorine claim under NSF/ANSI 177. This is what the utility reported for that sampling. Its annual water quality report says what it uses now.

Chlorine vs. chloramineShower filters, by what their listings cover

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Chlorine dioxideThe disinfectant was above its maximum allowed level.EPA: Acute Maximum Residual Disinfectant LevelDec. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2025—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1 monitoring or reporting violation not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total) results here are Alabama’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Athens Utilities’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 samples are from Sept. 19, 2023 to June 4, 2024; Alabama’s results run from Feb. 24, 2020 to Aug. 25, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Athens Utilities’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Alabama certifies.

The 3 labs Alabama certifies closest to the area Athens Utilities serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Limestone County Bacteriological Laboratory

    Athens, AL · about 2 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (256) 233-6445 ext. 125

  • Pace Analytical National Decatur

    Decatur, AL · about 12 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (256) 350-0846

  • Southern Environmental Testing

    Decatur, AL · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (256) 280-2567

Alabama Department of Public Health: Bacteria testing for private wells. Call your county health department to have an environmentalist collect the sample, or collect it yourself in a container from the county health department; there may be a collection fee and a testing fee. Well Water, Alabama Department of Public Health.

All 64 certified labs for Alabama

Sources

PWSID AL0000824. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Nearby

All Alabama utilities

What to do next