Is Birmingham, AL Tap Water Safe to Drink?

Where Does Birmingham Get Its Water?

Birmingham, AL is served by several public water systems, with the Birmingham Water Works Board being the primary utility supplying most of the city and surrounding communities. Additional utilities serving parts of the area include Graysville Water and Sewer Board, Leeds Water Board, Mulga Water Works and Gas Department, Shelby County Water System, and Trussville Utilities.

Water is treated at multiple facilities across the region. Named treatment plants include the Carson Water Treatment Plant, the J.K. Davis Filter Plant, the Putnam Water Treatment Plant, the Shades Mountain Water Treatment Plant, the South Water Treatment Plant, the Western Water Treatment Plant, and the Talladega/Shelby Water Treatment Plant, among others.

Several smaller facilities also contribute to local supply, including the Rowan Spring and Treatment Plant, the Weems Spring and Treatment Plant, and a number of well-based treatment points. This distributed system reflects the scale of the greater Birmingham metro area.

How Is Birmingham Tap Water Treated?

Water across Birmingham's utilities goes through several treatment steps. These include coagulation and flocculation to remove suspended particles, filtration, and the use of granular activated carbon, which is effective at removing many organic contaminants including some PFAS compounds. Powdered activated carbon is also part of the treatment mix at some facilities.

Disinfection is handled using free chlorine and chlorine-based methods at various points in the system, killing bacteria and viruses before the water reaches your tap. Some facilities also use no-disinfectant or blended approaches depending on the source and treatment train.

The combination of activated carbon filtration and multi-step disinfection is a solid baseline, but recent EPA sampling shows that some PFAS compounds are still reaching finished water above recommended levels, suggesting that the current treatment does not fully eliminate all PFAS at every point in the system.

What's in Birmingham Tap Water?

The most significant finding in recent EPA testing is the detection of two PFAS compounds above EPA drinking water standards. PFTrDA, a long-chain PFAS, was detected at a peak of 0.007 micrograms per liter, which matches the EPA's standard of 0.007 micrograms per liter, with detections recorded across 39 ZIP codes and 19 of those at or above the guideline. PFBS reached a peak of 0.0986 micrograms per liter against an EPA standard of 0.003 micrograms per liter, with 1 ZIP code above that level.

Lithium was detected in samples across all 20 ZIP codes in this dataset at a peak of 9 micrograms per liter, but no guideline exceedance was recorded for lithium based on the available data. Two additional PFAS compounds, 8:2 FTS and 11Cl-PF3OUdS, were each detected at up to 0.005 micrograms per liter, but neither exceeded a guideline in this dataset.

PFAS compounds are a class of industrial and commercial chemicals that have been used in firefighting foams, non-stick coatings, and a wide range of manufacturing processes. They are called 'forever chemicals' because they break down very slowly in the environment and can accumulate in the body over time.

Health Risk Profile for Birmingham

EPA has established drinking water standards for PFTrDA at 0.007 micrograms per liter and for PFBS at 0.003 micrograms per liter. Birmingham area samples show peak detections at or above both of these levels. Long-term exposure to PFAS at elevated levels has been linked by EPA to effects on immune function, thyroid health, and increased cancer risk, though the science continues to evolve.

Sensitive groups face greater concern from PFAS exposure. Infants, pregnant individuals, and people who are immunocompromised may be more vulnerable to the health effects associated with PFAS compounds. If you are in one of these groups, EPA and health agencies generally recommend taking additional precautions such as using a certified water filter.

For Birmingham tap water, the most protective filter choice is one certified to NSF/ANSI 58 (for reverse osmosis systems) or NSF/ANSI P473 (for pitcher and under-sink filters). NSF/ANSI is an independent third-party certification program, so look for that label on the box when shopping. These certifications specifically address PFAS removal. A filter certified to NSF/ANSI 42 can also help with taste and residual chlorine, though it does not remove PFAS.

It is worth keeping in mind that EPA's PFAS standards are relatively new, and utilities are in the early stages of evaluating how to address them at the treatment level. The presence of PFAS at these levels does not mean immediate harm from a single glass of water, but reducing ongoing exposure is a reasonable precaution.