Public water system · TN0000024
ActiveAthens Utilities Board
At a glance
Athens Utilities Board (PWSID TN0000024) is an active community water system in McMinn County, Tennessee. It reports serving 26,424 people through 10,698 service connections. Its primary water source is surface water, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in February 2019.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
26,424
Service connections
10,698
Primary source
SW
Surface water
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does Athens Utilities Board compare with other water systems in McMinn County?
By EPA's size categories, Athens Utilities Board is a large system (10,001 to 100,000 people). McMinn County has 11 active public water systems, and Athens Utilities Board is the largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 5.3 times the county average of 4,958 people per system, and accounts for 48% of the 54,536 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Tennessee, the 1,383 active systems average 5,780 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Athens Utilities Board is about 3.9 times that figure.
What does “community water system” mean?
A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. Homes, apartments and mobile-home parks are served by these. Tennessee has 450 active community water systems, 33% of the state's 1,383 active systems. Surface water means the system draws its water from rivers, lakes, streams or reservoirs. 151 Tennessee systems (11%) list surface water as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Athens Utilities Board?
EPA lists Athens Utilities Board as owned by a local government. The TN state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 6 of the 11 active systems in McMinn County (55%) are also owned by a local government.
Does Athens Utilities Board have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in February 2019. The violations listed here began between January 1996 and February 2019. By type: 11 monitoring and reporting and 1 monitoring. The contaminants or rules involved are Revised Total Coliform Rule, Chlorine, Carbon tetrachloride and trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene. EPA lists 10 as archived and 2 as resolved. Archived means the violation was not marked resolved but is more than five years past the end of the noncompliance period, so it no longer counts toward current compliance status. Resolved means at least one resolving action is on record: the system returned to compliance, the rule no longer applies, or no further action was needed.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-02-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Chlorinecode 0999 | No | Resolved |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Carbon tetrachloridecode 2982 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | trans-1,2-Dichloroethylenecode 2979 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | cis-1,2-Dichloroethylenecode 2380 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Trichloroethylenecode 2984 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | 1,1,2-Trichloroethanecode 2985 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | 1,2-Dichloropropanecode 2983 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Ethylbenzenecode 2992 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | p-Dichlorobenzenecode 2969 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | 1,1,1-Trichloroethanecode 2981 | No | Archived |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Toluenecode 2991 | No | Archived |
The 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, newest first.Labels and codes come from EPA's SDWIS reference tables. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found. "Health-based" marks violations of a legal limit or required treatment.
Athens Utilities Board: frequently asked questions
Who runs Athens Utilities Board?
Athens Utilities Board (PWSID TN0000024) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the TN state drinking water program.
How many people does Athens Utilities Board serve?
Athens Utilities Board reports serving 26,424 people through 10,698 service connections in McMinn County, Tennessee.
Where does Athens Utilities Board get its water?
EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as surface water. Surface water means the system draws its water from rivers, lakes, streams or reservoirs.
Does Athens Utilities Board have any drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in February 2019. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found.
Is Athens Utilities Board's water safe to drink?
AquaCensus shows EPA compliance records, not current water test results, so it cannot say whether the water is safe at a given moment. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in February 2019. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the TN state drinking water program.
Where can I find Athens Utilities Board's water quality report?
As a community water system, Athens Utilities Board must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year. The system can provide a copy on request.
Other water systems in McMinn County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etowah Utilities | McMinn | 12,851 | Community | Surface water |
| Niota Water System | McMinn | 3,932 | Community | Purchased groundwater under influence |
| Englewood Water Dept | McMinn | 3,917 | Community | Surface water |
| Riceville Utility District | McMinn | 3,843 | Community | Purchased surface water |
| Calhoun-Charleston U.D. | McMinn | 2,959 | Community | Purchased surface water |
| Resolute Forest Products | McMinn | 200 | Non-transient non-community | Surface water |
Related pages
Working with water-system records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.
About this data
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: AquaCensus, “Athens Utilities Board, PWSID TN0000024, Tennessee”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/tennessee/athens-utilities-board-tn0000024 (data as of October 1, 2026).