TapBuff
ZIP
Menu

Erwin Utilities Authority water quality report, rewritten

Serves
12,236
Connections
5,438
Water source
Groundwater influenced by surface water
Based in
Erwin, TN
County
Unicoi
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

37650

PWSID TN00002312026 edition · EPA data

Read this first

  • PFOS (above the health goal) was found in two of 12 samples, highest 6.7 ppt. Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.
  • PFOA (above the health goal) was found in one of 12 samples, highest 4.1 ppt. Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.
  • Lithium (above EPA’s health benchmark) was found in two of 12 samples, highest 51.1 ppb. Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.
  • Lead (above the health goal) In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Highlighted: above the health goal, or EPA’s health benchmark where there is no goal. Circled: above the legal limit in at least one sample, or the action level. Every scale puts that line at its middle.

PFOS (above the health goal)

Comes from the source

6.7 (above the legal limit in at least one sample)ppt

Highest of 12 samples; found in two

Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53Look for: PFOS ReductionSame claim, other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)
  • NSF/ANSI 58Look for: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)

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.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Nov. 8, 2023 to May 21, 2024. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

PFOA (above the health goal)

Comes from the source

4.1 (above the legal limit in at least one sample)ppt

Highest of 12 samples; found in one

Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53Look for: PFOA ReductionSame claim, other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
  • NSF/ANSI 58Look for: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

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.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken on May 21, 2024. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

51.1ppb

Highest of 12 samples; found in two

Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Nov. 8, 2023 to May 21, 2024. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

Lead (above the health goal)

Comes from pipes, often your own

0.6ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

EPA SDWIS, lead and copper monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2025. The pointer marks the latest period; each blue tick is an earlier one.

PFHxS

Comes from the source

3.6ppt

Highest of 12 samples; found in two

Detected, below the legal limit and the health goal.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53Look for: Total PFAS ReductionSame claim, other certifiers’ wording: Perfluorohexane Sulfonic Acid (PFHxS)

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 10 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Nov. 8, 2023 to May 21, 2024. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

PFBS

Comes from the source

7.5ppt

Highest of 12 samples; found in two

Below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own.

What handles it

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Nov. 8, 2023 to May 21, 2024. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

Tested and not found

Below EPA’s minimum reporting level in every sample taken from Nov. 8, 2023 to Aug. 22, 2024. Not found means not measured above that level, which is not the same as zero.

All 25 compounds tested and not found
  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFBA
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxA
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFPeA
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

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

    Claims: PFOS Reduction, PFOA Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOS, PFOA, Lead

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Lead Reduction

    For: PFOS, PFOA, Lead

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Compare five-year costs

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

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

What this report cannot tell you

  • Levels of everything else. Federal bulk data carries results for PFAS, lithium, lead and copper, and violations for the rest. Nitrate, arsenic, disinfection byproducts and other levels are in Erwin Utilities Authority’s own annual report, which it must send you every year.
  • 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.
  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q2; UCMR 5 samples are from Nov. 8, 2023 to Aug. 22, 2024.

What to do next

  1. Read up on the 4 marked results

    What each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.

    Start with PFOS

  2. Get the utility’s own report

    Erwin Utilities Authority must send you a water quality report every year. It lists nitrate, arsenic and byproduct levels this page cannot.

    How to read it

  3. Test your own tap for lead

    Your service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.

    Lead in your water: what to do

  4. Compare certified filters

    What the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.

    Compare five-year costs

Other Tennessee utilities

All Tennessee utilities

Sources