Mobile County tap water: hardness, PFAS and lead

Mobile County, Alabama has about 412,339 residents (Census 2024 estimate) and 14 community water systems in EPA records. The largest local system is Mobile, Bd. of W&S Comm. of the City of, serving about 279,000 people from surface water.

! 2 of 6 largest systems with health-based violationsPFAS detected at 3 of 6 sampled systemsHardness 2.7 gpg (low confidence)

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

How hard is Mobile County water?

Mobile, Bd. of W&S Comm. of the City of Estimate: untreated local water, not your tap · Low confidence

2.7 gpg (46 mg/L), soft

Mobile County: median of 5,991 results from 452 monitoring sites (streams and wells). Utilities may blend or treat water, so your tap can differ.

Source: Hard Water Map county data, samples through 2026

County estimates: Hard Water Map (hardwatermap.com), CC BY 4.0, derived from the USGS/EPA Water Quality Portal; file generated 2026-07-22. License

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Softener size at 2.7 gpg

For a 3-person home using 57 gallons per person per day and regenerating weekly, you'd remove about 3,232 grains between regenerations. Suggested size: 24,000 grain. This uses a low-confidence county estimate, so confirm with a test first.

Estimate only. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Open the softener calculator with 2.7 gpg

Largest water systems in Mobile County

The 6 biggest of 14 community water systems on EPA records for this county. Service areas don't follow county lines; your water bill names your provider.

Mobile, Bd. of W&S Comm. of the City of

AL0001005 · serves about 279,000 people · Surface water

! 1 health-based violation✓ Lead below action level✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: 1.5 ppb (period starting 2025-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Mobile County Water & Fire Pro Authority

AL0001002 · serves about 39,573 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action level✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: 1.6 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

South Alabama Utilities Water System

AL0000967 · serves about 39,249 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (2 types)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2024-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 17 ppt (3 of 28 samples); no federal limit
  • 6:2 FTS: highest sample 5.4 ppt (1 of 28 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Prichard Water Works Board

AL0001015 · serves about 29,190 people · Surface water

! 8 health-based violations✓ Lead below detection✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Saraland, Bd of W&S Commissioners

AL0001021 · serves about 13,827 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS detected (5 types)

Lead 90th percentile: 8.4 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFOS: highest sample 12 ppt (3 of 3 samples); federal limit 4.0 ppt as a running annual average
  • 6:2 FTS: highest sample 11 ppt (1 of 3 samples); no federal limit
  • PFPeA: highest sample 5.5 ppt (1 of 3 samples); no federal limit
  • PFOA: highest sample 4.5 ppt (1 of 3 samples); federal limit 4.0 ppt as a running annual average
  • PFHxA: highest sample 4 ppt (1 of 3 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Grand Bay Water Works Board

AL0000983 · serves about 11,100 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (3 types)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFOA: highest sample 31.4 ppt (2 of 8 samples); federal limit 4.0 ppt as a running annual average
  • PFOS: highest sample 26.9 ppt (2 of 8 samples); federal limit 4.0 ppt as a running annual average
  • PFHpA: highest sample 4.4 ppt (2 of 8 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

A PFAS detection is not a violation. Federal limits (4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS) apply to running annual averages, with compliance required by 2029. In May 2026 EPA proposed extending the PFOA/PFOS deadline to 2031 and removing other PFAS limits; not final as of 2026-10-21.

Test your own tap

These are public records for whole systems. Your home's pipes, fixtures and any private well can change what you drink. A certified lab test or a hardness test strip gives you your own numbers. Then use our PFAS and lead filter selector to see which certifications to look for.

Common questions about Mobile County water

Is tap water in Mobile County safe to drink?

2 of the 6 largest systems here have at least one health-based violation in EPA records since October 2021 (see each system below for status). Mobile, Bd. of W&S Comm. of the City of's most recent lead 90th percentile was 1.5 ppb (2025), below the 15 ppb action level. Public records can't guarantee what comes out of your tap, especially with older plumbing, so a home test is the surest check.

How hard is the water in Mobile County?

There's no published utility figure in our data, but untreated local stream and well samples in Mobile County have a median of about 2.7 grains per gallon (46 mg/L, soft). That's a low-confidence estimate of source water, not your tap, so test before you buy equipment. For a 3-person home at 2.7 gpg, our softener calculator suggests a 24,000 grain unit as a starting point.

Is there PFAS in Mobile County water?

3 of the 6 sampled systems listed here detected at least one PFAS in EPA's UCMR 5 testing, and 4 results were above the level of a federal limit in at least one sample. A detection isn't a violation: federal PFAS limits apply to running annual averages starting in 2029.

Which water system serves my address in Mobile County?

Most homes are served by Mobile, Bd. of W&S Comm. of the City of or one of the other systems listed on this page, but service areas don't follow county lines. Your water bill names your provider, and its annual Consumer Confidence Report has the full test results.

More Alabama counties

Sources for this page

Data as of October 21, 2026. Figures are copied from public records and combined with our own calculations; they can be out of date or wrong. Tapped Out isn't affiliated with any utility or the EPA. Written and reviewed by the Tapped Out team. How we calculate · All sources.