Is Tuscaloosa, AL tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 4 utilities serving Tuscaloosa has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Alabama’s records: Tuscaloosa Water & Sewer.
Tuscaloosa Water & Sewer, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the legal limit. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5) at 38.1 ppb, above the legal limit.
The water from Tuscaloosa Water & Sewer is soft, 36 mg/L (2.1 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 Tuscaloosa’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Tuscaloosa Water & Sewer
Alabama · serves 166,524 people · about 39,800 in Tuscaloosa
1 result above the legal limit. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5) at 38.1 ppb, above the legal limit. Hardness: soft, 36 mg/L (2.1 grains per gallon).
2 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Northport Water Works
Alabama · serves 40,551 people · about 2,100 in Tuscaloosa
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft, 41 mg/L (2.4 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Englewood - Hulls Water System, Inc.
Alabama · serves 7,077 people · about 1,000 in Tuscaloosa
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Mitchell Water System Inc
Alabama · serves 8,730 people · about 260 in Tuscaloosa
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Tuscaloosa
The 3 labs Alabama certifies closest to Tuscaloosa, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pace Analytical Services
Tuscaloosa, AL · about 6 miles
Certified for bacteria
Safety Environmental Services
Pelham, AL · about 35 miles
Certified for bacteria
Living Water Services
Alabaster, AL · about 41 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 AlabamaWhich ZIP codes are in Tuscaloosa: 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 Tuscaloosa
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Tuscaloosa Water & Sewer’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About Haloacetic acids (HAA5)What it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water