Cumberland Mountain Water & Fpa
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
- 5,880 people
- Connections
- 1,960
- Water source
- Surface water bought from another system
- Based in
- Scottsboro, AL
- County
- Jackson
- Owner
- Local government
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Alabama’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers PFAS and lithium; nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; and lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Feb. 3, 2025 to Nov. 4, 2025.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Alabama’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 12, 2020 to Aug. 12, 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. One other PFAS with no federal limit was found, the highest PFBA at 7.0 ppt: see it below.
EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound
| PFAS | EPA’s limit | Result |
|---|---|---|
| PFOA | 4.0 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 4 ppt |
| PFOS | 4.0 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 4 ppt |
| PFHxS | 10 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 3 ppt |
| PFNA | 10 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 4 ppt |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) | 10 ppt | Not foundNot found in any of 4 samples, below 5 ppt |
| PFBS | Index only | Below EPA’s limits3.1 ppt highest, found in 1 of 4 samples. Details |
| Hazard IndexPFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS together | 1 | Doesn’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. | ||
Below EPA’s limits3
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
63.1ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
Averaged by year, the highest was 63.1 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 103 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 53 ppb, in 2017.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
43.5ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026 average: 39.4 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 43.5 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 61.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 39.4 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 33.8 ppb, in 2017.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
PFBS
Comes from the source
3.1ppt
Highest sample, Feb. 3, 2025; found in 1 of 4
The highest sample was 3.1 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
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Total PFAS Reduction”
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.
| Compound | Highest sample | Found in | Certification claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| PFBA | 7.0 ppt | 2 of 4 | None covers it |
29 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
From routine monitoring
- Lead
PFAS and lithium, from EPA’s UCMR 5 sampling
- 11Cl-PF3OUdS
- 4:2 FTS
- 6:2 FTS
- 8:2 FTS
- 9Cl-PF3ONS
- ADONA
- HFPO-DA (GenX)
- Lithium
- NEtFOSAA
- NFDHA
- NMeFOSAA
- PFDA
- PFDoA
- PFEESA
- PFHpA
- PFHpS
- PFHxA
- PFHxS
- PFMBA
- PFMPA
- PFNA
- PFOA
- PFOS
- PFPeA
- PFPeS
- PFTA
- PFTrDA
- PFUnA
Disinfectant
Cumberland Mountain Water & Fpa reported disinfecting with chlorine, not chloramine, at its one sampling point, 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 utility buys its water from another system, so what it reported may leave out treatment done before the water reaches it. This is what the utility reported for that sampling. Its annual water quality report says what it uses now.
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Alabama’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Cumberland Mountain Water & Fpa’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. 3, 2025 to Nov. 4, 2025; Alabama’s results run from Feb. 12, 2020 to Aug. 12, 2026.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Alabama certifies closest to the area Cumberland Mountain Water & Fpa serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Albertville Bacteriological laboratory
Albertville, AL · about 29 miles
Certified for bacteria
Limestone County Bacteriological Laboratory
Athens, AL · about 50 miles
Certified for bacteria
Southern Environmental Testing
Decatur, AL · about 51 miles
Certified for bacteria
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 AlabamaSources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Drinking Water Branch, results from Jan. 6, 2020 to Oct. 8, 2026, read Oct. 17, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Disinfectant: EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, additional data elements, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- Certified labs: ADEM, certified bacteriological, chemical and PFAS drinking water laboratories, read Oct. 17, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID AL0000717. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Alabama’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportCumberland Mountain Water & Fpa must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded