PlainWater
States → Tennessee

Community Water System · PWS TN0000146

Cowan Board of Public Utilities

Cowan, Tennessee 37318 - drinking water served from surface water sources to 2,587 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

2,587
People served
34
EPA violations
3
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 34 drinking-water violations at Cowan Board of Public Utilities, 9% of them health-based - below the Tennessee per-system average.

34
Total EPA violations on record
9%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
2,587
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Cowan Board of Public Utilities

Cowan Board of Public Utilities is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 2,587 residents in Cowan, Tennessee (Franklin County) through 1,069 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 34 total violations for this system , of which 3 (9%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 27 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2017.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), recorded in 9 violations (MR). This system has not yet been sampled under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, so no PFAS detection data is available here.

Across Tennessee, EPA tracks 762 public water systems serving 7,934,203 people, with 43,318 cumulative violations and 9,414 health-based violations on record. About 94% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 56.8 violations. Statewide, 93 of 277 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (33.6%).

Cowan Board of Public Utilities's 34 violations sit below the Tennessee average.

All figures above are sourced directly from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 public data releases and are updated as EPA publishes new reporting cycles.

Population Served
2,587
Total Violations
34
Health-Based Violations
3
Water Source
Surface Water

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
1,069
County
Franklin
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
3
Monitoring Violations
27
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 9 2014
TTHM MR 9 2014
CARBON, TOTAL MR 6 2004
Coliform (TCR) MCL 3 2009
Atrazine MR 3 2001
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Other 2 2015
Public Notice Other 1 2017

Verify This Water System

The figures above are aggregated from EPA's public databases. To verify the underlying records, or to file a complaint, request a Consumer Confidence Report, or check current monitoring status, go directly to the federal and state regulators that enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act for Cowan Board of Public Utilities.

Federal Source of Truth

EPA SDWIS, Federal Reports

EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) holds the federal compliance record for every regulated public water system. Open the system-level report by PWS ID:

View PWS ID TN0000146 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Tennessee Drinking Water Authority

Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, Drinking Water is the primacy agency that licenses and inspects Cowan Board of Public Utilities under EPA-delegated authority.

Open TN regulator portal

Source: Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, Drinking Water

Violation Timeline

Each row links to the EPA SDWIS public record for verification. Cross-reference the contaminant code on EPA's federal report to see violation dates, return-to-compliance status, and enforcement actions.

Year (latest) Contaminant Category Count EPA Record
2017 Public Notice Other 1 SDWIS / TN0000146 / 7500
2015 Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Other 2 SDWIS / TN0000146 / 0300
2014 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 9 SDWIS / TN0000146 / 2456
2014 TTHM MR 9 SDWIS / TN0000146 / 2950
2009 Coliform (TCR) MCL 3 SDWIS / TN0000146 / 3100
2004 CARBON, TOTAL MR 6 SDWIS / TN0000146 / 2920
2001 Atrazine MR 3 SDWIS / TN0000146 / 2050

How Cowan Board of Public Utilities Compares

Cross-reference this system's record against state averages and the federal MCL framework for context.

Metric Cowan Board of Public Utilities Tennessee avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 34 56.8 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 3 12.4 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 33.6% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 2,587 10,412 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 762 regulated public water systems in Tennessee.

Federal MCL reference, Safe Drinking Water Act thresholds ▼
Contaminant Federal MCL / Action Level Note
Lead 0 mg/L (Action Level: 0.015 mg/L) Lead and Copper Rule treatment technique
Arsenic 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb) Health-based MCL since 2006
Total Coliform Treatment technique (RTCR) Indicator organism, monitoring trigger
PFOA / PFOS (PFAS) 4.0 ppt each (final 2024 rule) Compliance deadline 2029 (EPA proposed extending to 2031, not yet final as of May 2026)
Nitrate (as N) 10 mg/L Acute health risk for infants

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cowan Board of Public Utilities water safe to drink? ▼
Cowan Board of Public Utilities (PWS ID: TN0000146) has 34 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 2,587 people using Surface Water sources.
How many people does Cowan Board of Public Utilities serve? ▼
Cowan Board of Public Utilities serves 2,587 people in Cowan, Tennessee. It is a Local-owned system using Surface Water water sources with 1,069 service connections.
What type of violations does Cowan Board of Public Utilities have? ▼
Cowan Board of Public Utilities has 34 total violations: 3 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 27 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Cowan Board of Public Utilities water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Cowan Board of Public Utilities under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Cowan Board of Public Utilities use? ▼
Cowan Board of Public Utilities uses Surface Water as its primary water source. It is classified as a Community Water System (CWS), serving residential populations year-round.
Where does this data come from? ▼
All data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Q4 2025. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This system's figures are rendered directly from EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.