Problems We Found In Nashville's Drinking Water

For Hydroviv’s assessment of Nashville's water quality, we aggregated water quality test data from Metro Water Services, the city’s water provider and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as from samples that we collect and analyze. We cross reference these data with toxicity studies in the scientific and medical literature, and look at upcoming regulatory changes. The water filters that we offer in Nashville are optimized with this research in mind.

Source Of Nashville Drinking Water

Nashville’s tap and drinking water supply comes from the Cumberland River, which provides a steady source of water for both the K.R. Harrington and Omohundro water filtration plants.

Lead In Nashville Drinking Water

Lead enters Nashville's tap and drinking water through older lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. When corrosion control measures put in place by the municipality fail (like what recently happened in Flint, Michigan), lead leaches into the drinking water, and can reach dangerous levels. Currently, 10% of samples analyzed for lead in Nashville are over 1 part per billion. Though currently in compliance with federal regulations, EPA and CDC both acknowledge that there is no safe level of lead, and federal regulations do not take into account levels measured at an individual tap. Homes built before 1986 are particularly susceptible to high lead levels. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that any taps used to serve children have lead levels no higher than 1 part per billion.

Update March 2018: Nashville has started testing the taps in their public schools, and are finding very high levels of lead. We wrote a dedicated article on this that can be read HERE.

Chromium 6 In Nashville Drinking Water

Chromium 6 (also known as hexavalent chromium) is a highly toxic metal that is not regulated by the EPA. In recent years, tap water in Nashville has averaged 80 parts per trillion for chromium 6, with concentrations reaching as high as 170 parts per trillion. For the sake of perspective, these levels are 4-8 times higher than the concentration determined to havenegligible impact on cancer risk.

Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) In Nashville Drinking Water

DBPs are a category of emerging contaminants that form when chlorine-based disinfectants react with naturally-occurring organic matter. Although these chemicals are not currently regulated very well, the EPA has admitted that they are associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, as well as kidney, liver, and central nervous system problems. Nashville's water quality has tested positive for a range of disinfection byproducts including chloroform and bromodichloromethane, both of which are trihalomethanes.

Still Have Questions About Nashville Drinking Water?

Hydrovivis a water filtration company that uses water quality data to optimize water filters for each customer's water. The contaminants that we list above are what we consider to be major “points of emphasis” that we use to build water filters that are built specifically for Nashville's tap and drinking water, but all of our filters provide broad protection against a wide range of contaminants (including lead).

If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Nashville tap water, or just have questions about water quality in general, feel free to visitwww.hydroviv.com, reach out by email (hello@hydroviv.com) or through our live chat. We also frequently post water-related news onTwitter orFacebook. We pride ourselves in being a reputable source of information on water quality, and your questions will be answered by scientists, not salespeople (we don't have any salespeople).

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