Barrow County Water Quality: 2 Cities Ranked by the Records

Name: Barrow County Water Quality Data (2026)
Creator: PurityMap
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Barrow County, Georgia: 2 city reports built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.

Find my system Open on the map Private wells in Barrow County

Across the county's systems

Highest result for each contaminant

One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024) · US EPAHighest4.5 ng/L

WINDER4.5 ng/LSample date: 2023-12-18 to 2024-09-04
AUBURNNot detected · below 4.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-03-04 to 2024-12-09

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024) · US EPAHighest4.3 ng/L

WINDER4.3 ng/LSample date: 2023-12-18 to 2024-09-04
AUBURNNot detected · below 4.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-03-04 to 2024-12-09

Lead (90th percentile)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested15 µg/L federal action level · US EPAHighest0.52 µg/L

WINDER0.52 µg/LMonitoring period: 2023–2025
AUBURNNot detectedMonitoring period: 2020–2022

Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested2,000 ng/L EPA health advisory (screening, not a legal limit) · US EPAHighest4.1 ng/L

WINDER4.1 ng/LSample date: 2023-12-18 to 2024-09-04
AUBURNNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-03-04 to 2024-12-09

Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested400,000 ng/L Michigan EGLE state MCL (strictest US state) · Michigan EGLEHighest7.3 ng/L

WINDER7.3 ng/LSample date: 2023-12-18 to 2024-09-04
AUBURNNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-03-04 to 2024-12-09

Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)Detected in 1 system of 2 testedNo federal or state limit; shown for transparencyHighest6.1 ng/L

WINDER6.1 ng/LSample date: 2023-12-18 to 2024-09-04
AUBURNNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-03-04 to 2024-12-09

25 substances tested, none detected in any systemShow

Tested in these 2 systems: AUBURN, WINDER

11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
Lithium
N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)

2 cities

Cities ranked by the records

1
AuburnAUBURN
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
2
WinderWINDER
PFAS sample above a limitLead below action level
Open city report →

Showing 2 of 2 cities · scores are system-level, not tap tests

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.

PFAS in Barrow County1 of 2 city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit

Winder4.3 ng/L

4.0 ng/L federal MCL · PFOS, ng/LPFAS in Georgia

Lead

0of 2 cities above the 15 µg/L action level

Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.

Lead in Georgia

Who supplies the county

Largest water systems

WinderWINDER · GA0130002
51,540 served
AuburnAUBURN · GA0130000
10,060 served

Questions

Frequently asked

How does Barrow County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 2 cities in Barrow County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Auburn's main water system: AUBURN · PWSID GA0130000 · Purity Score 94 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.

How many Barrow County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

1 of 2 Barrow County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing, including Winder (PFOA 4.5 ng/L). 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. PFAS were detected at any level in 1.

Is there lead in Barrow County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 1 of 2 Barrow County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.

Next step

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