Is there PFAS in Hixson Utility District water?
Yes, at low levels. 2 PFAS were detected, all below EPA's 2024 limits.
Hixson Utility District
Serves 68,306 people · 4 PFOA samples from 2 sampling points · Sep 2024 to Mar 2025
PFAS found, below EPA limits
PFOA Perfluorooctanoic acid
not detected
PFOS Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
not detected
PFHxS Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid
3.1 ppt avg · max 6.1
Hazard index GenX, PFBS, PFNA, PFHxS combined
0.3 avg · max 0.6
Also detected, no federal limit: PFBS.
Hixson Utility District is a public water system drawing on groundwater, based in Hixson, Tennessee, serving about 68,306 people, including Hixson, Soddy Daisy, Chattanooga. Under EPA's Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule it was tested for 29 PFAS and lithium 4 times across 2 sampling points between Sep 2024 and Mar 2025.
Every PFAS detected
Not detected: PFNA, PFHpS, NMeFOSAA, PFTA, PFTrDA, NEtFOSAA, PFOS, PFOA, PFDA, PFDoA, PFHxA, 4:2 FTS, PFHpA, NFDHA, PFUnA, PFMBA, PFPeA, 8:2 FTS, PFEESA, 6:2 FTS, PFPeS, PFBA, HFPO-DA, ADONA, 9Cl-PF3ONS, 11Cl-PF3OUdS, 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 Tennessee
All 277 tested systems in Tennessee
ZIP codes served
37343 37379 37415
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 Hixson Utility District water: EPA UCMR 5 results." Data: U.S. EPA Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, final release August 2026, PWSID TN0000303. https://wellandtap.com/pfas/tennessee/hixson-utility-district/
About this data
Source: U.S. EPA, UCMR 5 occurrence data, final release August 2026 (PWSID TN0000303). Population: EPA SDWIS. Averages count results below the reporting level as zero, the same convention EPA uses for running annual averages. Full method.
