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City of Tenaha

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

Serves
1,746 people
Connections
669
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Tenaha, TX
County
Shelby
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

75974

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded. The worst: Copper, above the action level. 12 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2019 to 2020.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: Texas’s own results, samples taken from March 5, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

1.7ppm

90th percentile, 2020

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.7 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

239ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 239 ppb, in 2026, about 3 times EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 295 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 110 ppb, in 2016, and EPA recorded violations in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

What handles it

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

Below EPA’s limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

41ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 41 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 41.3 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 27.2 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 1.2 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.3 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.2 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.5 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.044ppm

Highest sample; found in 5 of 6

2025, one sample: 0.041 ppm

The highest sample, in 2023, was 0.044 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.041 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.055 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Lead
  • Uranium

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: Copper Reduction, Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Copper, Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Copper, Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper RuleOCCT/SOWT Treatment Installation/DemonstrationApril 1, 2025—Unaddressed
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Addressed
Lead and Copper RuleOCCT/SOWT Treatment Installation/DemonstrationFeb. 12, 2023—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2018 to March 31, 20180.083 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 20170.088 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 20170.094 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2017 to June 30, 20170.1 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 20170.1 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 20160.11 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 20160.1 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2016 to June 30, 20160.093 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2016 to June 30, 20160.088 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 28 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Texas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. City of Tenaha’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 didn’t sample this utility; Texas’s results run from March 5, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026.

Testing your own tap

City of Tenaha’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 Texas certifies.

The 3 labs Texas certifies closest to the area City of Tenaha serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eastex Environmental Lab, Inc.-Nacogdoches

    Nacogdoches, TX · about 32 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (936) 569-8879

  • Southern Petroleum Laboratories (SPL), Inc. (FKA Ana-Lab Corporation)

    Kilgore, TX · about 47 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper

    (903) 984-0551

  • Environmental Monitoring Lab

    Winona, TX · about 62 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (903) 877-9222

Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Well Informed screening events, where well owners bring in water samples to be screened for common contaminants, followed by an hour-long session explaining the results. Upcoming events are on the network's calendar. Trainings, Texas Well Owner Network.

All 80 certified labs for Texas

Sources

PWSID TX2100002. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Shelby County

All Texas utilities

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