Know what’s in your water before anyone recommends equipment.
Lenoir City Utilities Board draws from the Watts Bar embayment of the Tennessee River and the Allen Fine Spring[1]. It’s also one of the few Knoxville-area systems where EPA testing found PFOS at or just above 4 parts per trillion in some samples[2]. Here’s what that means, plus Loudon and Tellico Village, and how a free in-home test helps.
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LCUB runs two treatment plants and uses two sources, the Watts Bar embayment on the Tennessee River and the Allen Fine Spring[1]. In EPA’s records one plant treats surface water and the other groundwater under the influence of surface water[2]. The two waters differ: nitrate was 0.437 ppm at Plant 1 and 1.58 ppm at Plant 2 in 2025, both far below the 10 ppm limit[1].
| LCUB sources | Watts Bar embayment (Tennessee River) and Allen Fine Spring; two plants[1]. |
|---|---|
| LCUB chlorine | 2.1 ppm, range 1.7–2.1 ppm (2025)[1]. |
| LCUB byproducts | Trihalomethanes: running average 39.33 ppb (9.35–56.10); haloacetic acids 29.05 ppb[1]. |
| LCUB lead | 90th percentile 1.0 ppb; 0 of 30 homes above the 15 ppb action level (2025)[1]. |
| LCUB PFOS (UCMR 5) | 4.0 ppt at the Nelson St. plant (May 7, 2024); 4.3 and 4.6 ppt at the entry point EPA lists as “FUD – Hickory Creek” (May 7 and Nov 12, 2024)[2]. |
| Other PFAS at LCUB | PFBS up to 6.2 ppt, PFHxA up to 4.6 ppt, PFPeA up to 3.2 ppt in one or more samples[2]. |
| Loudon Utilities Board | Tennessee River; chlorine 1.82 ppm; trihalomethanes 50 ppb; lead 1.0 ppb (2024 data, newest posted)[3]. No PFAS at or above EPA reporting levels[2]. |
| Tellico Village | Water bought from Loudon Utilities Board and the Tellico Area Services System and resold by the property owners’ association; about 5,502 connections[4]. No PFAS at or above EPA reporting levels at either connection (2023–2024)[2]. |
| Homes on private wells | About 12% of Loudon County residents (6,229 of 51,130; USGS, 2015)[5]. |
Numbers come from each utility’s own report and EPA/USGS data, checked November 2026. Water changes from street to street, so book a free test for your home.
From 2023 to 2025, EPA had public water systems test for 29 PFAS under a program called UCMR 5. Lenoir City’s samples found PFOS at 4.0 ppt at the Nelson St. plant in May 2024, and at 4.3 and 4.6 ppt at the entry point EPA labels “FUD – Hickory Creek” in May and November 2024[2]. Four other PFAS showed up at lower levels[2].
EPA’s limit for PFOA and for PFOS is 4 ppt, measured as a running annual average, with compliance due in 2029; a rule EPA proposed in May 2026 would let systems ask for an extension to 2031[6]. Single samples aren’t a running average, so these results are not a violation, and LCUB’s 2025 report lists none[1]. They do explain why Lenoir City families ask us about PFAS more than most. Reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink is the home option EPA research supports most for PFAS. A certified lab test of your own tap tells you your starting number.
Loudon Utilities Board treats Tennessee River water. Its newest posted report, published in 2025, covers 2024: chlorine averaged 1.82 ppm, trihalomethanes 50 ppb and the lead 90th percentile 1.0 ppb, with 0 of 30 homes above the action level[3]. EPA’s UCMR 5 data show no PFAS at or above reporting levels for Loudon[2].
Tellico Village’s water system is run by its property owners’ association. The association buys water from Loudon Utilities Board and the Tellico Area Services System and resells it to members; a 2025 state filing put it at about 5,502 connections[4]. EPA’s UCMR 5 samples at both supply connections showed no PFAS at or above reporting levels[2]. In any home that sits empty for weeks at a time, water heaters, ice makers and fixtures are where scale and stale taste show up first.
None of these systems publishes a hardness number. Tennessee River water elsewhere in the valley measures moderately hard (KUB reported 94 ppm in 2025[7]), and a spring like Allen Fine can run harder. We’d rather measure it at your sink than guess, and then size a water softener only if you need one.
LCUB, Loudon and Tellico Village water is treated and tested. The common requests are chlorine filtered out at the main line, reverse osmosis for drinking water because of the PFAS questions, and a softener where hardness shows up on the test.
About 12% of Loudon County residents are on wells[5], mostly out toward Greenback and Philadelphia. EPA advises yearly tests for coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH[8]. See well water treatment.
Yes, at low levels. In EPA’s UCMR 5 testing, PFOS was detected at 4.0 ppt at LCUB’s Nelson St. plant and at 4.3 and 4.6 ppt at another entry point in 2024. EPA’s limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ppt as a running annual average, with compliance due in 2029. Single samples aren’t the same as that average.
Lenoir City Utilities Board’s 2025 report lists no violations, a lead 90th percentile of 1.0 ppb and 0 of 30 homes above the action level. That’s the legal answer. EPA testing also found PFOS near EPA’s future 4 ppt limit in some 2024 samples, which is why many families add reverse osmosis for drinking water.
The Tellico Village property owners’ association runs the Village water system and buys its water from Loudon Utilities Board and the Tellico Area Services System, then resells it to members. A 2025 state filing put the system at about 5,502 connections. EPA’s UCMR 5 samples at both connections showed no PFAS at or above reporting levels.
Lenoir City Utilities Board doesn’t publish a hardness figure, and neither do Loudon Utilities Board or Tellico Village. Tennessee River water elsewhere in the valley measures moderately hard, and spring water can run harder. A free in-home test measures the hardness at your own tap, which is the number a softener should be sized to.
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