Community Water System · PWS MI0000260
Athens
Operator location Athens, Michigan - smaller served population (≤ 999) at 956 people served; 36 SDWIS violations on record from groundwater sources.
- 956
- People served (this PWS)
- 36
- EPA violations (this PWS)
- 8
- Health-based (this PWS)
- Untested
- UCMR5 (this PWS)
Athens standing, mid SDWIS violation third
956 people served (SDWIS) - smaller served population (≤ 999). Corpus terciles use 29,740 systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). Health-based share 22% is middle-third health share (≤ 23%). Population rank #20,287 of 29,740 among systems serving 500+.
The verdict
Athens lands in the middle third by violation volume (36), large enough for peer comparisons without matching the fleet's heaviest ledgers. Population served is smaller (956; smaller served population (≤ 999)), so each violation row represents a compact service footprint. Health-based share is 22% (middle-third health share (≤ 23%)). No UCMR5 PFAS test appears for this system in this extract.
- #20,287 of 29,740
- Population · /systems
- #662 of 1,375
- Population · MI
- 36
- Total EPA violations on record
- 22%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
Population ordinals match the sitemap cohort (systems serving 500+, population_served DESC). See methodology · corpus placement.
System Details
- System Type
- Community
- Owner Type
- Local
- Connections
- 386
- County
- Calhoun
- School/Daycare
- No
- MCL Violations
- 8
- Monitoring Violations
- 12
- Treatment Tech Violations
- 0
Violation History
Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.
| Contaminant | Category | Count | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coliform (TCR) | MCL | 8 | 2002 |
| Coliform (TCR) | MR | 5 | 2004 |
| Arsenic | MR | 4 | 2005 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | RPT | 4 | 2024 |
| Lead and Copper Rule | MR | 3 | 2019 |
Violation Count vs. the National Corpus
Athens has 36 recorded EPA violations, 47% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500+ people nationwide carry fewer, and 52% carry more. 22% of this system's own violations are health-based (8 of 36), and it ranks #20,287 of 29,740 by population served among that same cohort.
EPA violations vs. the national water-system corpus
Public water systems serving 500+ people (EPA SDWIS)
36 Lower than most fewer violations than 52% of 29,740 water systems
the national water-system corpus, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more water systems. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source EPA SDWIS · 2026-05-15
Population served record for Athens
EPA SDWIS lists 956 people served and 386 connections for this PWS, confirm the service-area footprint on the federal report before comparing to municipal census totals.
Sources: EPA SDWIS · Michigan EGLE, Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division
Nationwide peers
36 violations · 956 served: nearest cross-state SDWIS matches.
Cross-state systems near this violation count
Nearest cross-state community systems (500+ served) by total SDWIS violations on record.
Cross-state systems with smaller service footprints
Nearest cross-state systems by EPA SDWIS population_served (same 500+ sitemap gate).
What to do with Athens
Use this system's EPA-reported record as a starting filter, not a final verdict.
- See how every tracked system in Michigan compares on the same EPA violation measures. Michigan systems
- Check whether PFAS was detected at this system under UCMR5 testing. PFAS guide
- Find and compare another public water system by name or PWSID. Search systems
EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 figures are informational only, not a substitute for a certified lab test of your own tap water.