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Town of Centre, Ww and Sb of the

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
8,163 people
Connections
2,721
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Centre, AL
County
Cherokee
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

35960

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the legal limit. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Feb. 3, 2025 to Nov. 5, 2025.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total): Alabama’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 6, 2020 to Aug. 6, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA and PFBS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below. Four other PFAS with no federal limit were found, the highest PFPeA at 40 ppt: see them below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptAbove EPA’s new limit (2029)5.2 ppt highest, found in 1 of 4 samples. Details
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 onlyBelow EPA’s limits77 ppt highest, found in 4 of 4 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.

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 the legal limit1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

55.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 3.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 55.6 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 130 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 15 samples averaged 3.7 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 47.1 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

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

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above EPA’s new limit (2029)

5.2ppt

Highest sample, Aug. 4, 2025; found in 1 of 4

The highest sample was 5.2 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 1.3 ppt, below it.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

51.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 19.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 51.1 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 82 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 15 samples averaged 19.3 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 46.3 ppb, in 2013.

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

0.67ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.67 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.94 ppm, in 2018.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.4ppm

Highest sample; found in 6 of 6

2026, one sample: 0.082 ppm

The highest sample, in 2021, was 0.4 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.082 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.48 ppm, in 2015.

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

77ppt

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

The highest sample was 77 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
PFPeA40 ppt4 of 4None covers it
PFBA24.3 ppt4 of 4None covers it
PFHxA18 ppt3 of 4None covers it
PFHpA3.7 ppt1 of 4NSF/ANSI 53: Total PFAS Reduction
27 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • 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
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • 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

    Claim: PFOA Reduction

    For: PFOA

    Other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

    For: PFOA

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

Hardness

Moderately hard, 67 mg/L (3.9 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 3.9 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Alabama water hardness, utility by utility

Disinfectant

Town of Centre, Ww and Sb of the reported disinfecting with chlorine, not chloramine, at its one sampling point, in its 2025 sampling for EPA. It also reported another disinfectant.

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
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 20200.061 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 16 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Alabama’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Centre, Ww and Sb of the’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. 5, 2025; Alabama’s results run from Feb. 6, 2020 to Aug. 6, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of Centre, Ww and Sb of the’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 2 labs Alabama certifies closest to the area Town of Centre, Ww and Sb of the 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 37 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (256) 878-3762

  • Guardian Systems

    Leeds, AL · about 70 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (205) 699-6647

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 AL0000188. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Nearby

All Alabama utilities

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