Table of Contents
Can You Drink Tap Water in Nashville?
Yes, Nashville's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Nashville has no active health based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that we are aware of. Other factors such as lead piping in a home, or low levels of pollutants on immunocompromised individuals, should also be considered, however. To find more recent info we might have, you can check out our boil water notice page or the city's water provider website.
According the EPA’s ECHO database, from April 30, 2019 to June 30, 2022, Nashville's water utility, Harpeth Valley U D, had 0 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For more details on the violations, please see our violation history section below. There has been an active violation for Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule since Sept. 1, 2017. This assessment is based on the Harpeth Valley U D water system, other water systems in the city may have different results.
While tap water that meets the EPA health guidelines generally won’t make you sick to your stomach, it can still contain regulated and unregulated contaminants present in trace amounts that could potentially cause health issues over the long-run. These trace contaminants may also impact immunocompromised and vulnerable individuals.
The EPA is reviewing if it’s current regulations around pollutant levels in tap water are strict enough, and the health dangers posed by unregulated pollutants, like PFAS.
Nashville Tap Water Safe Drinking Water Act Violation History - Prior 10 Years
Below is a ten year history of violations for the water system named Harpeth Valley U D for Nashville in Tennessee. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.
For the compliance period beginning Oct. 4, 2018, Nashville had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Other Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Public Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation which falls into the Other rule code group, and the Public Notice Rule rule code family for the following contaminant code: Public Notice.
For the compliance period beginning Sept. 1, 2017, Nashville had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Other Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Record Keeping which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Surface Water Treatment Rules rule code family for the following contaminant code: Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule.
Is there Lead in Nashville Water?
Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Nashville water system, Harpeth Valley U D, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.001 mg/L of lead in Nashville water. This is 6.7% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Nashville contained more lead.
While Nashville water testing may have found 0.001 mg/L of lead in its water, that does not mean your water source has the same amount. The amount of lead in water in a city can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even building to building. Many buildings, particularly older ones, have lead pipes or service lines which can be a source of contamination. To find out if your home has lead, we recommend getting you water tested.
No amount of lead in water is healthy, only less dangerous. As lead accumulates in our bodies over time, even exposure to relatively small amounts can have negative health effects. For more information, please check out our Lead FAQ page.
Are there PFAS in Nashville Tap Water?
Currently, testing tap water for PFAS isn’t mandated on a national level. We do have a list of military bases where there have been suspected or confirmed leaks. There appears to be at least one military base - Nashville Metropolitan Airport - near Nashville with suspected leaks.
With many potential sources of PFAS in tap water across the US, the best information we currently have about which cities have PFAS in their water is this ewg map, which you can check to see if Nashville has been evaluated for yet.
Our stance is better safe than sorry, and that it makes sense to try to purify the tap water just in case.
Nashville SDWA Violation History Table - Prior 10 Years
| Compliance Period | Status | Health-Based? | Category Code | Code | Rule Code | Contaminant Code | Rule Group Code | Rule Family Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/04/2018 - | Unaddressed | No | Other Violation (Other) | Public Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation (75) | Public Notice Rule (410) | Public Notice (7500) | Other (400) | Public Notice Rule (410) |
| 09/01/2017 - | Unaddressed | No | Other Violation (Other) | Record Keeping (09) | Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (122) | Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (0300) | Microbials (100) | Surface Water Treatment Rules (120) |
What do these Violations Mean?
Safe Drinking Water Act Violations categories split into two groups, health based, and non-health based. Generally, health based violations are more serious, though non-health based violations can also be cause for concern.
Health Based Violations
- Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) - maximum allowed contaminant level was exceeded.
- Maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs) - maximum allowed disinfectant level was exceeded.
- Other violations (Other) - the exact required process to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water was not followed.
Non-Health Based Violations
- Monitoring and reporting violations (MR, MON) - failure to conduct the required regular monitoring of drinking water quality, and/or to submit monitoring results on time.
- Public notice violations (Other) - failure to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
- Other violations (Other) - miscellaneous violations, such as failure to issue annual consumer confidence reports or maintain required records.
SDWA Table Key
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Compliance Period | Dates of the compliance period. |
| Status |
Current status of the violation.
|
| Health-Based? | Whether the violation is health based. |
| Category Code |
The category of violation that is reported.
|
| Code | A full description of violation codes can be accessed in the SDWA_REF_CODE_VALUES (CSV) table. |
| Contaminant Code | A code value that represents a contaminant for which a public water system has incurred a violation of a primary drinking water regulation. |
| Rule Code |
Code for a National Drinking Water rule.
|
| Rule Group Code |
Code that uniquely identifies a rule group.
|
| Rule Family Code |
Code for rule family.
|
For more clarification please visit the EPA's data dictionary.
Nashville Water - Frequently Asked Questions
| By Mail: | P.O. BOX 210319 NASHVILLE, TN, 37221 |
Existing customers can login to their Harpeth Valley U D account to pay their Nashville water bill by clicking here.
If you want to pay your Harpeth Valley U D bill online and haven't made an account yet, you can create an account online. Please click here to create your account to pay your Nashville water bill.
If you don't want to make an account, or can't remember your account, you can make a one-time payment towards your Nashville water bill without creating an account using a one time payment portal with your account number and credit or debit card. Click here to make a one time payment.
Moving to a new house or apartment in Nashville means you will often need to put the water in your name with Harpeth Valley U D. In order to put the water in your name, please click the link to the start service form below. Start service requests for water bills typically take two business days.
Leaving your house or apartment in Nashville means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with Harpeth Valley U D. In order to take your name off the water bill, please click the link to the stop service form below. Stop service for water bills requests typically take two business days.
The estimated price of bottled water
$1.83 in USD (1.5-liter)
USER SUBMITTED RATINGS
- Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility
- Water Pollution
- Drinking Water Quality and Accessibility
- Water Quality
The above data is comprised of subjective, user submitted opinions about the water quality and pollution in Nashville, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).
Related FAQS
Contaminants
Nashville Water Department #1
EWG's drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Utility details
- Serves: 702407
- Data available: 2012-2017
- Data Source: Surface water
- Total: 12
Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines
- Bromodichloromethane
- Chloroform
- Chromium (hexavalent)
- Dibromochloromethane
- Nitrate
- Radium%2C combined (-226 & -228)
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
Other Detected Contaminants
- 2%2C4-D
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Strontium
- Vanadium
Reminder
Always take extra precautions, the water may be safe to drink when it leaves the sewage treatment plant but it may pick up pollutants during its way to your tap. We advise that you ask locals or hotel staff about the water quality. Also, note that different cities have different water mineral contents.
Sources and Resources
Sources Cited
Additional Resources
If you are considering a trip to Nashville, Tennessee for any reason, you should ask yourself if you’re taking tap water with you. This is especially true if you drink a lot of it. Nashville is one of the most populated cities in the United States, and there is a good chance that you will have a problem with the water you drink if you are traveling from another city. Drinking tap water in Nashville can cause you to become sick, especially if you do not have a filtration system installed in your home.
Filtering your own tap water is not difficult, but it can be time consuming and very expensive. The cost of a water purification system can vary widely. In general, a filtered system will cost about fifty dollars per month, although the actual cost may vary depending on what type of filtration system you buy. There are several different companies that sell water filtration systems, so comparing costs is not difficult. You should also check with your doctor before purchasing a water-filtration system for your home, as he or she can help you determine which system will be the best for you.
Filtered water goes a long way toward improving the quality of your life. If you’ve ever used bottled water and noticed how cloudy and tasteless it can be, you’ll appreciate having a purified water supply. If you are going on a trip to Nashville or another large city, you should definitely invest in a water filter. Not only will you be healthier and happier when you return home, but you can save money on your hotel bill by filtering your own tap water at home.
Nashville Drinking Water
Have you heard about Nashville drinking water purification? This is one of the things that I was actually very thankful for when I moved to Nashville a few years ago. First let me just say that I hate that the water in Nashville actually has a fluoride like material in it, and that is very bad for my children. However, if you go out there and find the best filtration system for your home you will be happy that you did.
Another problem with the water in Nashville is that all the corporations that are responsible for water treatment don’t really do their job very well. For example, they use chlorine, and while that does the job it really does kill the healthy bacteria that we need in our water. Also when it comes to the public treatment facility, the treatment facility uses THMs, which are known to cause cancer. There are some people that think that this is way over the top, but unless you have been living in Tennessee for a while you wouldn’t know that there was such a thing as THMs.
So, what is the best thing for you and your family to do? It is to get a good filtration system because without good filtration you could be putting your health at risk for a long time. The best filtration system for drinking water in Nashville is actually called Aquasana, and it is one of the only filtration systems that filter down to 0.2 microns. That is the best that you can get.
Nashville Water Quality Report
If you are considering a new drinking water supply in Nashville, you should also look into the quality reports that are issued by various water treatment facilities throughout the state of Tennessee. It is important to make sure that the water coming into your home or business is not only safe for consumption, but it is also pure enough to be effective for your needs. Nashville is one of the largest cities in Tennessee and the majority of its population is made up of people who live in the surrounding areas. A number of treatment facilities are available throughout the city to meet any need that might arise.
You will need to familiarize yourself with the various forms of testing conducted, as well as the standards set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. While the E.P.A. makes every effort to test for and remove any pollutants that it detects in the public water supply, some problems still occur, especially when the quality of the water that is received is below standards.
Because no two homes or businesses are alike, you will want to consult with a water quality report that specifically addresses the needs of your particular area. If you live in the Nashville Metropolitan Authority area, for example, you will want to find a company that offers its customers custom-made water quality reports. This way, you can be sure that the water that will be supplied to your home or business is safe for consumption and will also adhere to the strictest standards available.
Nashville Water Systems
If you live in Nashville, you are probably aware of the excellent quality water supply that the city provides to its residents. Water from your tap is perfectly safe and clean. In addition, most Nashville water systems come with a long history of reliability, making it easy for residents to trust that they will work when the power goes out or the hot water runs out. However, if you have an expensive appliance that consumes a lot of water in your home or if you have a well in your backyard, you may want to invest in a reliable water filtration system for your home. These affordable filtration units can provide you with the peace of mind that your family’s health and safety are in good hands.
A water filtration system in your home is an easy and affordable way to provide your family with cleaner water. There are several different kinds to choose from that vary in both affordability and effectiveness. Filtration systems are designed to remove harmful substances and chemicals from your drinking and cooking water. A lot of these units use filters made of activated granular carbon to remove bacteria and other harmful organisms that can be found in your water supply. These filters can easily be installed on your kitchen faucet and take away the harmful substances that have been plaguing your family.
When shopping for a water filtration system in Nashville, it pays to do some research beforehand. The internet is a great place to find information about the best units available. Many Nashville water companies even offer online coupons and discounts that will help you save money on the equipment that you purchase. Even if you are shopping online, you can get a quick glimpse of what you are buying by reading customer reviews. This will help you know if the water filtration unit that you are interested in purchasing is sturdy and reliable enough to use in your home.
Nashville Water Safety
If you are looking to install a water safety system in your home or place of business, there are quite a few choices available on the market. One thing that you will want to keep in mind is that while the system may look good, the best ones tend to be expensive and this can put some people off, thinking that they cannot afford them. The good news here is that there are plenty of water safety systems available for those who can afford them – all it takes is some research before choosing one.
There are quite a few companies out there that manufacture residential and commercial water safety systems. The biggest of these is called Nautilus and this company produces a wide range of different products, including filters, pumps and faucets. If you are interested in installing a filter in your home then there are a number of local retailers in Nashville offering the filters that you need. However, if you prefer to have something custom made then you should visit your local water filtration company to see what they have available.
When you are looking to install a water safety system in your home, you should bear in mind that the biggest problem usually occurs when the water is not of quality. If you live in an area that gets heavy rainfall then you are more likely to have dirt and debris washed into the water supply, meaning that you need a high quality filtration system installed to remove the impurities from the water. If you install a system that simply cleans the water of any sediment and metals then you will simply be replacing it on a regular basis which is not only costly but also wasteful. The best thing to do is to invest in a system that can not only remove any sediment but can also process the water to remove any harmful chemicals or other contaminants that could be in the water. A system like this is much more effective at cleaning the water and can ensure that the water you are drinking or using for cooking is of good quality all the time.