Public water system · TN0000146

Active

Cowan B.P.U.

At a glance

Cowan B.P.U. (PWSID TN0000146) is an active community water system in Franklin County, Tennessee. It reports serving 2,550 people through 1,054 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater under influence of surface water, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. EPA's records list 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2017.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.

Population served

2,550

Service connections

1,054

Primary source

Groundwater under influence of surface water

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDTN0000146

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served2,550

Service connections1,054

Primary water sourceGroundwater under influence of surface water

Owner typeLocal government

Primacy agencyTN state drinking water program

City servedCowan

StateTennessee

ZIP—

CountyFranklin County

How does Cowan B.P.U. compare with other water systems in Franklin County?

By EPA's size categories, Cowan B.P.U. is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Franklin County has 19 active public water systems, and Cowan B.P.U. is the 6th-largest of them by population served. Its population served is roughly in line with the county average of 2,827 people per system, and accounts for 4.7% of the 53,703 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 Cowan B.P.U. is about 62% below 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. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules. 44 Tennessee systems (3.2%) list groundwater under influence of surface water as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Cowan B.P.U.?

EPA lists Cowan B.P.U. 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. 8 of the 19 active systems in Franklin County (42%) are also owned by a local government.

Does Cowan B.P.U. have drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2017. The violations listed here began between April 2001 and July 2017. By type: 6 monitoring and reporting, 3 public notice, recordkeeping or other and 1 contaminant level above the legal limit. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (2 of them). EPA lists 7 as resolved and 3 as unaddressed. 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. Unaddressed means the violation is not resolved or archived and is not yet covered by formal enforcement.

Began	Violation	Contaminant or rule	Health-based	Status
2017-07-30	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75	Public Noticecode 7500	No	Unaddressed
2015-07-01	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherRecord Keeping · code 09	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	No	Unaddressed
2015-06-01	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherRecord Keeping · code 09	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	No	Unaddressed
2014-10-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950	No	Resolved
2014-10-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	No	Resolved
2013-07-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	No	Resolved
2013-07-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950	No	Resolved
2009-08-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Resolved
2004-01-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Carbon, totalcode 2920	No	Resolved
2001-04-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03	Atrazinecode 2050	No	Resolved

All 10 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.

Cowan B.P.U.: frequently asked questions

Who runs Cowan B.P.U.?

Cowan B.P.U. (PWSID TN0000146) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the TN state drinking water program.

How many people does Cowan B.P.U. serve?

Cowan B.P.U. reports serving 2,550 people through 1,054 service connections in Franklin County, Tennessee.

Where does Cowan B.P.U. get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater under influence of surface water. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules.

Does Cowan B.P.U. have any drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2017. 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 Cowan B.P.U.'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. EPA's records list 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2017. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the TN state drinking water program.

Where can I find Cowan B.P.U.'s water quality report?

As a community water system, Cowan B.P.U. 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 Franklin County

Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Winchester Water System	Franklin	24,899	Community	Surface water
Center Grove-Winchester Springs	Franklin	6,979	Community	Groundwater under influence of surface water
Sewanee Utility District	Franklin	5,970	Community	Surface water
Decherd Water Dept	Franklin	4,809	Community	Groundwater under influence of surface water
Estill Springs Water Dept	Franklin	4,317	Community	Groundwater under influence of surface water
Belvidere Rural U.D.	Franklin	1,771	Community	Groundwater under influence of surface water

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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, “Cowan B.P.U., PWSID TN0000146, Tennessee”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/tennessee/cowan-b-p-u-tn0000146 (data as of October 1, 2026).