Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Savannah Utility Department

What EPA’s and CDC’s records show in this utility’s water: PFAS and lithium; nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
19,495 people
Connections
7,957
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Savannah, TN
County
Hardin
Owner
Local government
The 3 ZIP codes it serves

38372, 38425, 38475

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: PFOS, above EPA’s new limit (2029). No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from March 13, 2023 to Sept. 12, 2023.

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2025.

Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Tennessee’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2022, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOS and PFBS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below. One other PFAS with no federal limit was found, the highest PFBA at 6.3 ppt: see it below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 samples, below 4 ppt
PFOS4.0 pptAbove EPA’s new limit (2029)15.8 ppt highest, found in 2 of 2 samples. Details
PFHxS10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 samples, below 3 ppt
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 samples, below 4 ppt
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 2 samples, below 5 ppt
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits4.1 ppt highest, found in 2 of 2 samples. Details
Hazard IndexPFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS together1Doesn’t applyDoesn’t apply: no sampling location found two or more of the four
Results from EPA’s UCMR 5 sampling. “Below” is the lab’s reporting level: a result under it reads as not found, which is not the same as zero. The limits are EPA’s 2024 rule, with compliance due from 2029; EPA has since proposed changes to some of them, explained on each compound’s page. PFBS has no limit of its own and counts only toward the Hazard Index, which adds up the four, each against EPA’s health-based level, from each sampling location’s average, as EPA’s UCMR 5 summary does. It counts only where two or more of the four were found, and is above the limit from 1.5.

About PFAS certifications

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.

Above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 20291

PFOS

Comes from the source

Above EPA’s new limit (2029)

15.8ppt

Highest sample, Sept. 12, 2023; found in 2 of 2

The highest sample was 15.8 ppt, about 4 times EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029. EPA’s health goal is zero. Compliance will be judged on a running annual average, not one sample. Averaged by sampling location, as EPA compares its UCMR 5 results with the limit, the highest was 11.3 ppt, also above it.

What handles it

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.7 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.0ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.0 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

19.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 18.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 19.6 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 18.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 24.9 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

6.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 5.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.3 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 5.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 14.3 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2021

2021 average: 0.2 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.2 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2021, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.2 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.13 ppm, in 2018.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.1ppt

Highest sample, Sept. 12, 2023; found in 2 of 2

The highest sample was 4.1 ppt, below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own.

What handles it

Tennessee utilities above EPA’s PFAS limits

Also found, with no federal limit

EPA measured these PFAS to learn how often they occur. None has a legal limit or a health goal yet.

CompoundHighest sampleFound inCertification claim
PFBA6.3 ppt1 of 2None covers it
27 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • Lithium
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxA
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFPeA
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

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, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOS, Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS); Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: PFOS, Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

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.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

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

Compare five-year costs

The best water filters for PFAS, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Disinfectant

Savannah Utility Department reported disinfecting with chlorine, not chloramine, at its one sampling point, in its 2023 sampling for EPA.

Chlorine leaves water that sits out for a few days, CDC says. A filter certified for it carries a chlorine claim under NSF/ANSI 42; a shower filter, a free chlorine claim under NSF/ANSI 177. This is what the utility reported for that sampling. Its annual water quality report says what it uses now.

Chlorine vs. chloramineShower filters, by what their listings cover

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Tennessee’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Savannah Utility Department’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.

  • 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.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 samples are from March 13, 2023 to Sept. 12, 2023; CDC’s yearly averages for Tennessee cover 2020 to 2022.

Testing your own tap

Savannah Utility Department’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Tennessee certifies.

The lab Tennessee certifies closest to the area Savannah Utility Department serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eurofins Jackson (former Waypoint LLC)

    Jackson, TN · about 51 miles

    Certified for bacteria, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (731) 423-5330

Tennessee Department of Health: Water quality testing for eligible private wells and springs, through the program formerly called SafeWATCH. Contact the department's Waterborne Disease Team to ask about eligibility. Free for eligible wells and springs. Waterborne Diseases, Tennessee Department of Health.

All 37 certified labs for Tennessee

Sources

PWSID TN0000611. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Hardin County

All Tennessee utilities

What to do next