Is Columbia, TN tap water safe?
The short answer
Neither of the 2 utilities serving Columbia has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records.
Columbia Power and Water Systems, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.0 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 Columbia’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Columbia Power and Water Systems
Tennessee · serves 84,617 people · about 5,900 in Columbia
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.0 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Maury County Water System
Tennessee · serves 25,978 people · about 1,000 in Columbia
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 7.1 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Columbia Power and Water Systems’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Lead
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Lead
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Lead
Water testing near Columbia
The 2 labs Tennessee certifies closest to Columbia, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pace Analytical National Center for Testing&Evaluation
Mount Juliet, TN · about 48 miles
Certified for bacteria, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
Jacobs - Fort Campbell Water Plant
Fort Campbell, KY · about 73 miles
Certified for metals, minerals and other inorganics
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 TennesseeZIP codes in Columbia
Which ZIP codes are in Columbia: 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: TDEC, commercial laboratories certified for drinking water analysis; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Columbia
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Columbia Power and Water Systems’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for ArsenicRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water