Is there PFAS in Birmingham Water Works Board water?
Yes, at low levels. 5 PFAS were detected, all below EPA's 2024 limits.
Birmingham Water Works Board
Serves 585,000 people · 16 PFOA samples from 1 sampling point · Aug 2024 to May 2025
PFAS found, below EPA limits
PFOA Perfluorooctanoic acid
not detected
PFOS Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
not detected
Hazard index GenX, PFBS, PFNA, PFHxS combined
not detected
Also detected, no federal limit: PFPeA, PFHxA, PFBS, PFBA, 6:2 FTS.
Birmingham Water Works Board is a public water system drawing on surface water, based in Birmingham, Alabama, serving about 585,000 people, including Moody, Adamsville, Bessemer, Docena, Dolomite, Dora. Under EPA's Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule it was tested for 29 PFAS and lithium 16 times across 1 sampling point between Aug 2024 and May 2025.
Every PFAS detected
Not detected: PFHpA, ADONA, 9Cl-PF3ONS, 11Cl-PF3OUdS, HFPO-DA, PFHxS, PFNA, PFOS, PFOA, PFDA, 4:2 FTS, NEtFOSAA, PFDoA, PFPeS, NMeFOSAA, PFTrDA, PFTA, PFHpS, 8:2 FTS, NFDHA, PFEESA, PFMBA, PFUnA, PFMPA.
Lithium, tested in the same program: not detected.
What the EPA limits mean here
In April 2024 EPA set enforceable limits of 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt each for PFHxS, PFNA and GenX, and a hazard index of 1 for mixtures. Utilities were given until 2029 to comply. In May 2026 EPA proposed keeping only the PFOA and PFOS limits and moving that deadline to 2031. Until that proposal is final, the 2024 limits stand.
Compliance is judged on a running annual average at each entry point, so we show the average at this system's worst sampling point next to its single highest result. UCMR 5 results do not by themselves put a utility in or out of compliance.
What you can do at home
Levels here are under EPA's limits, so no treatment is required. If you want them lower anyway, a certified reverse osmosis system under the sink handles drinking water, and a whole-house carbon filter also takes out the chlorine or chloramine your utility adds.
Other systems in Alabama
All 307 tested systems in Alabama
ZIP codes served
35004 35005 35023 35060 35061 35062 35064 35068 35071 35073 35080 35091 35094 35116 35118 35126 35127 35133 35172 35180 35203 35204 35205 35206 35207 35208 35209 35210 35211 35212 35213 35214 35215 35216 35217 35218 35221 35222 35223 35224 35226 35228 35233 35234 35235 35242 35243 35244 35294
As reported by the utility to EPA. Neighbouring ZIPs are often split between systems; your water bill names yours.
Cite this page
Well & Tap. "PFAS in Birmingham Water Works Board water: EPA UCMR 5 results." Data: U.S. EPA Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, final release August 2026, PWSID AL0000738. https://wellandtap.com/pfas/alabama/birmingham-water-works-board/
About this data
Source: U.S. EPA, UCMR 5 occurrence data, final release August 2026 (PWSID AL0000738). Population: EPA SDWIS. Averages count results below the reporting level as zero, the same convention EPA uses for running annual averages. Full method.
