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Is Columbus, MS tap water safe?

6 utilities serve Columbus, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Mississippi’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

None of the 6 utilities serving Columbus has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Mississippi’s records.

Columbus Light & Water, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.5 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

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 Columbus’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 Columbus Light & Water’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Columbus

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 Mississippi certifies.

No lab Mississippi certifies is within 75 miles of Columbus on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

Mississippi State Department of Health: Bacteria testing for private wells: apply online, and the department takes a sample from your well and tests it. It does not test for minerals or chemicals. $10 plus a processing fee, invoiced by email. Private Well Sample application, Mississippi State Department of Health.

All 5 certified labs for Mississippi

ZIP codes in Columbus

Which ZIP codes are in Columbus: 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.

Near Columbus

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

What to do next