Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Is Athens-Clarke County, GA tap water safe?

4 utilities serve Athens-Clarke County, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

2 of the 4 utilities serving Athens-Clarke County have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s records: Athens - Clarke Co Water System and Jackson County Water & Sewer Authority.

Athens - Clarke Co Water System, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the legal limit and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at 83 ppb, above the legal limit.

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 Athens-Clarke County’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Athens - Clarke Co Water System’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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

Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Athens-Clarke County

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Georgia certifies.

The 3 labs Georgia certifies closest to Athens-Clarke County, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • UGA Feed and Environmental Water

    Athens, GA · about 1 mile

    Certified for bacteria

    (706) 542-5350

  • Food and Dairy Research Associates

    Commerce, GA · about 19 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (706) 335-9703

  • Piedmont Water Company

    Greensboro, GA · about 30 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (706) 473-8296

University of Georgia Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories: Well water tests for minerals, nitrate, lead and bacteria, sent in through your county Extension office, which supplies bottles and helps with sampling and fees. The lab lists $20 for its basic water test, $12 for nitrate, $40 for coliform bacteria, and $90 for the home loan set of lead, nitrate, nitrite and bacteria. Water Analyses, UGA Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories.

All 43 certified labs for Georgia

ZIP codes in Athens-Clarke County

Which ZIP codes are in Athens-Clarke County: 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: Georgia EPD, laboratories certified by Georgia for chemical, microbiological, PFAS, and lead and copper monitoring; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Athens-Clarke County

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

What to do next