Is Glencoe, AL tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 3 utilities serving Glencoe has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Alabama’s records.
Glencoe Water Works Board, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.0 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Glencoe Water Works Board is very hard, 187 mg/L (10.9 grains per gallon). How Alabama’s water compares.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Glencoe’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Glencoe Water Works Board
Alabama · serves 6,465 people · about 1,600 in Glencoe
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.0 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, 187 mg/L (10.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Gadsden, the Wwsb of the
Alabama · serves 44,637 people · about 260 in Glencoe
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 32.4 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: soft, 52 mg/L (3 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Hokes Bluff Water Board
Alabama · serves 5,536 people · about 210 in Glencoe
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: moderately hard, 111 mg/L (6.5 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Glencoe Water Works Board’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Water testing near Glencoe
The 3 labs Alabama certifies closest to Glencoe, 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 28 miles
Certified for bacteria
Guardian Systems
Leeds, AL · about 50 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sutherland Environmental Testing Laboratory
Birmingham, AL · about 62 miles
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 AlabamaWhich ZIP codes are in Glencoe: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: ADEM, certified bacteriological, chemical and PFAS drinking water laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Glencoe
Other towns in Etowah County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Glencoe Water Works Board’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for ArsenicRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water