PurityMap
Search city, ZIP, contaminant⌘KFind my water
Updated 2026-09-16
State water report

Tennessee Water Quality: 143 Cities Ranked by the Records

Water quality across 143 cities in Tennessee, drawn from EPA drinking-water records. Each city page shows the measured contaminants and a reproducible Purity Score.

Finding by finding

What Tennessee's records show

Counts of cities whose serving system reported each result. There is no statewide score: PurityMap does not average local records into a statewide safety verdict. 2 cities have a past health-based violation on record.

PFAS above a 2024 limit

MCL

24of 143 cities

Cities whose system reported a PFAS above its federal limit.

PFOS in Tennessee →

Nitrate above the MCL

MCL

0of 143 cities

Cities whose system reported nitrate above 10 mg/L.

About nitrate →

Hard or very hard

No federal limit

0of 143 cities

Above 120 mg/L as CaCO₃ (7 gpg) on the USGS scale, of 1 cities with a hardness value.

About hard water →
City rankings

Tennessee cities ranked by the records

Highest first. A summary of each serving system’s record, not a safety verdict.

  1. 1
    Maryville W SCITY OF MARYVILLE W&S DEPT · TN0000438
    Report →
  2. 2
    Laguardo DistrictLAGUARDO UTILITY DISTRICT · TN0000394
    Report →
  3. 3
    OaklandOAKLAND WATER DEPT · TN0000521
    Report →
  4. 4
    Tellico AreaTELLICO AREA SERVICES SYSTEM · TN0000726
    Report →
  5. 5
    NashvilleMETRO WATER SERVICES · TN0000494
    Report →
  6. 6
    KnoxvilleKNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD - KUB · TN0000366
    Report →
  7. 7
    ClarksvilleCLARKSVILLE WATER DEPARTMENT · TN0000116
    Report →
  8. 8
    White House DistrictWHITE HOUSE UTILITY DISTRICT · TN0000745
    Report →
  9. 9
    First U D Knox CountyFIRST U.D. OF KNOX COUNTY · TN0000369
    Report →
  10. 10
    Johnson CityJOHNSON CITY WATER DEPT · TN0000331
    Report →

Showing the top 10 of 143 scored cities.

See all 143 in the table

143 cities, highest Purity Score first

  1. 1Maryville W S
    CITY OF MARYVILLE W&S DEPT · PWSID TN0000438 · Purity Score 100/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 0.5 µg/LDetected
  2. 2Laguardo District
    LAGUARDO UTILITY DISTRICT · PWSID TN0000394 · Purity Score 100/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 0.5 µg/LDetected
  3. 3Oakland
    OAKLAND WATER DEPT · PWSID TN0000521 · Purity Score 100/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 0.2 µg/LDetected
  4. 4Tellico Area
    TELLICO AREA SERVICES SYSTEM · PWSID TN0000726 · Purity Score 100/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 0.5 µg/LDetected
  5. 5Nashville
    METRO WATER SERVICES · PWSID TN0000494 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 0.8 µg/LDetected
  6. 6Knoxville
    KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD - KUB · PWSID TN0000366 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    PFAS detected below their limits; lead 0.6 µg/LDetected
  7. 7Clarksville
    CLARKSVILLE WATER DEPARTMENT · PWSID TN0000116 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 1 µg/LDetected
  8. 8White House District
    WHITE HOUSE UTILITY DISTRICT · PWSID TN0000745 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 1 µg/LDetected
  9. 9First U D Knox County
    FIRST U.D. OF KNOX COUNTY · PWSID TN0000369 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    PFAS detected below their limits; lead 1 µg/LDetected
  10. 10Johnson City
    JOHNSON CITY WATER DEPT · PWSID TN0000331 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 1.3 µg/LDetected
  11. 11West Wilson District
    WEST WILSON UTILITY DISTRICT · PWSID TN0000743 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    No PFAS detected; lead 1 µg/LDetected
  12. 12Columbia Power S
    COLUMBIA POWER AND WATER SYSTEMS · PWSID TN0000128 · Purity Score 99/100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
    PFAS detected below their limits; lead 1 µg/LDetected
Showing 12 of 143.

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no state 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. See how Tennessee compares with other states.

By contaminant

PFAS, lead and hard water in Tennessee

Counties

Tennessee counties

54 counties with city reports
Show all 54 counties
Suppliers

Largest water systems

All water systems →
Full indexAll 143 Tennessee city reports, A–Z
Next step

State patterns can’t tell you what reaches your tap.

Find my water
Learn

Learn your supplier

Resolve your address to the one public water system that serves it.

Find my water →
Test

Test your own tap

Plumbing inside a building can add lead and change what reaches your glass.

How to test →
Solve

Treat by concern

Only after a city report names a finding, match a treatment certified for it.

Treatment options →
Questions

Tennessee water, frequently asked

FOLLOW TENNESSEE WATER RECORDS

Get Tennessee updates

We'll email you when Tennessee records change, such as new PFAS or lead results.

Double opt-in: we email a confirmation link. Unsubscribe anytime. No spam.

How does Tennessee tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 143 cities in Tennessee 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 Maryville W S's main water system: CITY OF MARYVILLE W&S DEPT · PWSID TN0000438 · Purity Score 100 (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 Tennessee cities have PFAS above the federal limit?

24 cities of 143 had at least one regulated PFAS (PFOA, PFOS or PFHxS) measured above the 2024 federal limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing, including Savannah Valley U D (PFOA 35 ng/L), Camden (PFOS 24 ng/L), Jackson (PFOS 20 ng/L). PFAS were detected at any level in 50.

Is there lead in Tennessee tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 143 of 143 Tennessee 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.

Have Tennessee water systems had drinking-water violations?

2 cities in Tennessee have a health-based violation in the federal SDWIS record within about the last ten years. Each city report lists the contaminant, year and whether it was resolved.

Does Tennessee have hard water?

Hardness is published in utility water-quality reports for 1 Tennessee city on record; the hardest is Chattanooga at 4.4 grains per gallon. Hardness affects scale and appliances; it is not a health finding.

Limits, sources and corrections

A statewide page cannot tell you what reaches a specific address. Water quality varies by supplier, sampling period and household plumbing; open a city report for the evidence behind a local result.

Sources: EPA UCMR 5 (PFAS, 2024), SDWIS Lead and Copper Rule 90th-percentile results and health-based violations, and utility Consumer Confidence Reports where on file. Every city report links its dated source records.

Updated 2026-09-16. How PurityMap analyzes water data · Report an error