Is Watts Bar Utility District Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: SWP
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Rhea

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

health-based violations

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
MR	Monitoring	Archived	1995-01-01 → 1995-03-31
MR	Monitoring	Archived	1995-01-01 → 1995-03-31
MR	Monitoring	Archived	1995-01-01 → 1995-03-31
MR	Monitoring	Archived	1995-01-01 → 1995-03-31
MR	Monitoring	Archived	1995-01-01 → 1995-03-31
MR	Monitoring	Archived	1995-01-01 → 1995-03-31
MR	Monitoring	Archived	1991-02-01 → 1991-02-28

PFAS detected

PFAS are industrial “forever chemicals”. These are the EPA's latest nationwide test results (2023–2025).

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
Pfba	0.0075 µg/L	2/4	2024

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
TTHM	31.875 µg/L 40% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 36.5 µg/L	60/60	SYR4	2014–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	19.1 µg/L 32% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 56.3 µg/L	60/60	SYR4	2014–2019
Nitrate	570 µg/L 5.7% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L	12/12	SYR4	2014–2019
Lead	0.0010 mg/L 6.7% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	11/11	LCR	2025

53 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAtrazineBenzeneChlorobenzeneCarbon TetrachlorideDichloromethaneEthylbenzeneGross Alpha, Excl. Radon And UHfpo-DaNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaPFBSPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfhxaPFHXSPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPFOAPFOSPfpeaPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaStyreneTetrachloroethyleneTolueneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: BARGER, CHARLES MICKEY
Phone: 865-270-8070
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about Watts Bar Utility District

Is Watts Bar Utility District tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 5 contaminants in Watts Bar Utility District's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Watts Bar Utility District's water?

EPA monitoring detected TTHM, Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), Nitrate, Lead, Pfba. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Watts Bar Utility District serve?

Watts Bar Utility District reports serving 15,571 people in Tennessee, per its EPA record.

Has Watts Bar Utility District had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 7 violations on file for Watts Bar Utility District, of which 0 are health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 0 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.