Short answer: In the 2023–2025 records we hold for Montevallo, PFOS had a sample above a 2024 EPA limit (not a violation: the limit is judged on a yearly average, due 2029), and a health-based violation is on record (EPA SDWIS). 1 more is detected with no federal limit, and everything else measured is within its reference or not detected. 6 substances were detected and 25 were tested and not detected. The water is from Montevallo Water Works & Sewer Board, serving 10,746 residents.
Plumbing inside the building is outside this record.
At a glance
Montevallo water in four numbers
50/100 · PoorConfidence: moderatePurity ScoreMONTEVALLO WATER WORKS & SEWER BOARD · PWSID AL0001160
6Detected1 with a sample above a 2024 EPA limit
1With a sample above a 2024 EPA limitof 31 records
1Health-based violationslast 10 years · EPA SDWIS
PFOS had a sample above a 2024 EPA limit (not a violation: the limit is judged on a yearly average, due 2029); 1 more is detected with no federal limit, and everything else measured is within its reference or not detected.
What we found
6 detected results, by distance from their limit
Each bar runs to the named reference; the tick marks it. Open a row for five layers: measured, compared, meaning, where it matters, what to do.
PFOSPerfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)Above EPA's 2024 limit (one sample) · Federal MCL4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024)16.7ng/L▾
① · Measured
16.7 ng/L, sampled 2024-03-04 to 2024-12-02. EPA UCMR 5.
② · Compared
4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024): a legal limit. That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it, so a single sample is not a violation. EPA health goal (MCLG): 0.
③ · Meaning
One EPA sample measured 16.7 ng/L, above the 4 ng/L limit EPA set in 2024. That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it, so a single sample is not a violation.
④ · Where it matters
Comes with the source water; home plumbing does not add it.
⑤ · What to do
Test your own tap first. To reduce it: Reverse osmosis, or carbon certified for PFAS (NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 (PFOA/PFOS)).
PFHxSPerfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)Within reference · Federal MCL10 ng/L federal MCL (2024)5.9ng/L▾
① · Measured
5.9 ng/L, sampled 2024-03-04 to 2024-12-02. EPA UCMR 5.
② · Compared
10 ng/L federal MCL (2024): a legal limit. That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it.
③ · Meaning
Detected at up to 5.9 ng/L (below the 10 ng/L limit EPA set in 2024). That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it.
④ · Where it matters
Comes with the source water; home plumbing does not add it.
⑤ · What to do
Test your own tap first. To reduce it: Reverse osmosis, or carbon certified for PFAS (NSF/ANSI 53 or 58, with PFHxS named on the listing).
MONTEVALLO WATER WORKS & SEWER BOARD (EPA PWSID AL0001160) delivers surface water to 10,746 residents. This report reflects 29 individual PFAS result(s) from the source UCMR5 observations and the latest Lead & Copper Rule 90th-percentile result. Water hardness and disinfectant type are pending the utility's own annual report.
Track record
1health-based violation in the last 10 years
From EPA SDWIS. Counted once per contaminant per year, as in the Track record score.
Not in this recordDisinfection by-products weren't monitored in this dataset
No result is not a pass. Your utility's annual water quality report may list them, and a certified lab test covers your own tap.
Health-based violations, last 10 years
Every filing is listed; the Track record score counts at most one per contaminant per year.
Filings 2012–2021
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
201220172022
Open
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleTT
The record describes water leaving treatment and samples across the system. Pipes, solder and fixtures inside a building can add lead the record can’t see, especially in older buildings with lead service lines.
Affiliate linksPurityMap earns a commission from these links. "Best choice" and "Budget pick" go to certified products first; commission never decides them. As an Amazon Associate, PurityMap earns from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure
★ Best choice: Aquasana Claryum 2-Stage Under-Sink Filter (AQ-5200), certified for PFOS and lead.
Reverse osmosisiSpring RCC7AK Alkaline Reverse Osmosis SystemiSpring · It treats only the water from its own faucet and sends part of the water to the drain; the NSF listing for the plain RCC7AK covers dissolved solids, not lead or PFAS.Use code REFISPRING at checkout: 10% off your first iSpring order.
Reverse osmosisiSpring RO5004F Tankless Reverse Osmosis System with UViSpring · Its PFAS and lead reduction claims are iSpring's own, with no third-party certification named for this model, and it treats only the water at its own faucet.Use code REFISPRING at checkout: 10% off your first iSpring order.
Reverse osmosisWaterdrop X12 Reverse Osmosis SystemWaterdrop · Its IAPMO NSF/ANSI 58 certification covers TDS reduction only, so its PFAS and lead claims rest on Waterdrop's own SGS lab testing.
Whole-houseiSpring WGB32B-PFKS PFAS & Heavy Metals Whole House FilteriSpring · It does not reduce total dissolved solids or soften hard water, and its PFAS result comes from SGS lab testing rather than an NSF/ANSI certification.Use code REFISPRING at checkout: 10% off your first iSpring order.
PurityMap earns a commission from these links. "Best choice" and "Budget pick" go to certified products first; commission never decides them. As an Amazon Associate, PurityMap earns from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.
Ask your utility first
Find out if your building has a lead service line
Water utilities keep an inventory of service-line materials. Ask Montevallo Water Works & Sewer Board whether your address is on it before you replace pipes.
Your path: I live in an older buildingLead from plumbing is the main question
Older buildings may have lead service lines, solder or fixtures. Montevallo’s record shows lead at 1.5 µg/L (15 µg/L federal action level). Test first-draw water, then filter if needed.
5 of 29 PFAS tested were detected in Montevallo’s record (PFOS 16.7 ng/L, PFHxS 5.9 ng/L and PFBS 3 ng/L, and more); 1 above its limit. If PFAS matters to you, a filter certification names each compound it covers.
Look forNSF/ANSI 53 or 58, with each compound you care about named on the listing
Your path: My water tastes of chlorineThe disinfectant is not in this record
Most utilities keep chlorine or chloramine in the pipes. A carbon filter certified for taste and odor reduces either; your utility can tell you which it uses.
PurityMap does not give a safe/unsafe verdict; it shows what the public records measured. For Montevallo, PFOS 16.7 ng/L was measured in one EPA sample, above the 4 ng/L limit EPA set in 2024 (not a violation: the limit is judged on a yearly average, due 2029); the lead 90th-percentile result was 1.5 µg/L against the 15 µg/L action level. MONTEVALLO WATER WORKS & SEWER BOARD (PWSID AL0001160) has a Purity Score of 50/100 (confidence: moderate), assessed at the water-system level and computed only from contaminants that were measured. Water can change in your own pipes, so a certified test is the only way to know what comes out of your tap. What we found →
Who provides tap water in Montevallo?+
MONTEVALLO WATER WORKS & SEWER BOARD (PWS ID AL0001160) is the public water system on record for Montevallo, Alabama, serving about 10,746 people. Confirm the utility on your water bill before acting on a specific finding. Water utility →
Where does Montevallo get its drinking water?+
Surface water (primary source of record in EPA SDWIS). Water utility →
Are PFAS "forever chemicals" in Montevallo's water?+
Yes. In EPA's UCMR 5 testing (2024-03-04 to 2024-12-02), PFOS was measured at 16.7 ng/L in one EPA sample, above the 4 ng/L limit EPA set in 2024. That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it, so a single sample is not a violation. PFBS (3 ng/L, below the 2,000 ng/L EPA health advisory), PFHxA (4.3 ng/L, below the 400,000 ng/L state limit) and PFHxS (5.9 ng/L, below the 10 ng/L federal limit) were also detected. PFPeA (5 ng/L) was also detected; it has no federal or state limit. Reverse osmosis and filters certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for PFOA/PFOS reduce them at the tap. What we found →
Is there lead in Montevallo's tap water?+
MONTEVALLO WATER WORKS & SEWER BOARD's most recent lead 90th-percentile result (2023–2025) was 1.5 µg/L, below the 15 µg/L action level. That figure comes from sampled homes; lead usually enters from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink. Your household →
What does the latest Montevallo water report show?+
PurityMap's current record for Montevallo holds 31 findings: 1 above a reference, 4 detected within the reference, 1 detected with no limit and 25 not detected. Each finding links to its dated public record; a parameter that was never monitored is shown as pending, not as a pass. Records →
EPA SDWIS, EPA UCMR 5 and utility reports, each dated and linked.
02Normalize
Units converted to one basis; a non-detect kept distinct from zero.
03Classify
Each result tagged by reference type: MCL, action level, screening level or aesthetic.
04Compare to the named reference
Every value sits against its own reference, never a blended one.
05Score
Measured subjects summarised at the water-system level; an open health-based violation caps the score.
06Match treatment
Treatment is matched to what was found; a product is called certified only when its current certification names it.
What the Purity Score means: a summary of this water system’s published record, capped while a health-based violation is open. It is not a test of any tap. MONTEVALLO WATER WORKS & SEWER BOARD · PWSID AL0001160 · Purity Score 50/100 (Poor) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
Lead at Montevallo Water Works & Sewer Board: 1.5 µg/L (90th percentile, 2023–2025 monitoring period). Lead has no taste, so a taste neither shows nor rules it out.
ZIP codes in Montevallo
A ZIP code is a postal area, not a water service area. Your water bill names your supplier.