Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Central Alabama Water

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
653,322 people
Connections
217,774
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Birmingham, AL
County
Jefferson
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Moderately hard
The 57 ZIP codes it serves

35004, 35005, 35022, 35023, 35060, 35061, 35062, 35063, 35064, 35068, 35071, 35073, 35079, 35080, 35091, 35094, 35116, 35117, 35118, 35119, 35126, 35127, 35133, 35172, 35173, 35180, 35203, 35204, 35205, 35206, 35207, 35208, 35209, 35210, 35211, 35212, 35213, 35214, 35215, 35216, 35217, 35218, 35221, 35222, 35223, 35224, 35226, 35228, 35229, 35233, 35234, 35235, 35242, 35243, 35244, 35254, 35294

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Aug. 21, 2024 to May 19, 2025.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2010 to 2026.

Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total): Alabama’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 10, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFBS was found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; its result is below. Four other PFAS with no federal limit were found, the highest PFPeA at 11.3 ppt: see them below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 16 samples, below 4 ppt
PFOS4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 16 samples, below 4 ppt
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 16 samples, below 3 ppt
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 16 samples, below 4 ppt
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 16 samples, below 5 ppt
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits7.9 ppt highest, found in 4 of 16 samples. Details
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

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.2ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.2 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

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.019ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.019 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 0.17 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its eight samples.

What handles it

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

Below EPA’s limits5

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

30.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 26.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 30.8 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 53.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 105 samples averaged 26.9 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 30.6 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

40.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 40.5 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 102 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 44.6 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

0.63ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 0.02 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.63 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.98 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its eight samples averaged 0.02 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.74 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.58ppm

Highest sample; found in 39 of 52

2026 average: 0.27 ppm

The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.58 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its eight samples averaged 0.27 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.79 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

7.9ppt

Highest sample, Nov. 18, 2024; found in 4 of 16

The highest sample was 7.9 ppt, below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own.

What handles it

Alabama utilities above EPA’s PFAS limits

Also found, with no federal limit

EPA measured these PFAS to learn how often they occur. None has a legal limit or a health goal yet.

CompoundHighest sampleFound inCertification claim
PFPeA11.3 ppt3 of 16None covers it
PFHxA8.5 ppt2 of 16None covers it
PFBA6.1 ppt1 of 16None covers it
6:2 FTS5.8 ppt1 of 16None covers it
26 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

  • Chromium (total)

PFAS and lithium, from EPA’s UCMR 5 sampling

  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • Lithium
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFOS
  • 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: Lead Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Lead, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Lead, Arsenic

    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 water filters for lead, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Hardness

Moderately hard, 110 mg/L (6.4 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 6.4 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Alabama water hardness, utility by utility

Disinfectant

Central Alabama Water reported disinfecting with chlorine, not chloramine, at all 4 of its sampling points, in its 2024 to 2025 sampling for EPA.

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

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 4 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

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. Central Alabama Water’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 Aug. 21, 2024 to May 19, 2025; Alabama’s results run from Feb. 10, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Central Alabama Water’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 Central Alabama Water serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Sutherland Environmental Testing Laboratory

    Birmingham, AL · about 4 miles

    (205) 581-9500

  • Guardian Systems

    Leeds, AL · about 16 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (205) 699-6647

  • Safety Environmental Services

    Pelham, AL · about 22 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (205) 823-6200

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 AL0000738. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

And 40 more.

Also in Jefferson County

All Alabama utilities

What to do next