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City of Talladega Water & Sewer Dept

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
20,250 people
Connections
6,750
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Talladega, AL
County
Talladega
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Hard
The ZIP code it serves

35160

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: PFOS, above EPA’s new limit (2029). No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Feb. 20, 2025 to Nov. 13, 2025.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2024.

Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total): Alabama’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 11, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOS and PFHxS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below. One other PFAS with no federal limit was found, the highest PFPeA at 3.3 ppt: see it below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples, below 4 ppt
PFOS4.0 pptAbove EPA’s new limit (2029)5.9 ppt highest, found in 4 of 12 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptBelow EPA’s limits3.7 ppt highest, found in 4 of 12 samples. Details
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples, below 4 ppt
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 12 samples, below 5 ppt
PFBSIndex onlyNot foundNot found in any of 12 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.

About PFAS certifications

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 4.0 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

Above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 20291

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above EPA’s new limit (2029)

5.9ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 14, 2025; found in 4 of 12

The highest sample was 5.9 ppt, above EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029. EPA’s health goal is zero. Compliance will be judged on a running annual average, not one sample. Averaged by sampling location, as EPA compares its UCMR 5 results with the limit, the highest was 5.4 ppt, also above it.

What handles it

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppb, in 2025: 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 any of its five samples.

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

1.0ppb

90th percentile, 2022 to 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.0 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 limits6

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

41ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 29.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 41 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 72 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 18 samples averaged 29.6 ppb. 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 28.5 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

42.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 39.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 42.5 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 106 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 18 samples averaged 39.6 ppb. 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 27.5 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

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

PFHxS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

3.7ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 14, 2025; found in 4 of 12

The highest sample was 3.7 ppt, below EPA’s new limit of 10 ppt, which takes effect in 2029.

What handles it

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 0.8 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.3 ppm, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its five samples averaged 0.8 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.0 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.7ppm

Highest sample; found in 28 of 35

2026 average: 1.3 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 2.7 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its five samples averaged 1.3 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 2.5 ppm, in 2017.

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

5.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 5.0 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its five samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 ppb, in 2013.

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
PFPeA3.3 ppt2 of 12None covers it
27 compounds tested and not foundBelow 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
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • 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: PFOS Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOS, Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS); Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: PFOS, 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 water filters for PFAS, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Hard, 178 mg/L (10.4 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 10.4 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Alabama water hardness, utility by utility

Disinfectant

City of Talladega Water & Sewer Dept reported disinfecting with chlorine, not chloramine, at all 5 of its sampling points, in its 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 16 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. City of Talladega Water & Sewer Dept’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 Feb. 20, 2025 to Nov. 13, 2025; Alabama’s results run from Feb. 11, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026.

Testing your own tap

City of Talladega Water & Sewer Dept’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 City of Talladega Water & Sewer Dept serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Alexander City Sugar Creek Laboratory

    Alexander City, AL · about 31 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (256) 409-2031

  • Guardian Systems

    Leeds, AL · about 31 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (205) 699-6647

  • Living Water Services

    Alabaster, AL · about 44 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (205) 985-2113

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 AL0001260. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Nearby

All Alabama utilities

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