Serving Mobile + Baldwin County, AL
Free in-home water test · results while we're there
Baldwin County · PWSID AL0000035
City of Fairhope Public Utilities serves about 59,850 people across Fairhope, Point Clear. Below is what the EPA and the Environmental Working Group publish about it — the readings, the compliance record, and what each one means for the water coming out of your tap.
The readings below are system-wide averages. A free in-home test tells you what is coming out of your own faucet — no cost, no obligation.
Rather talk it through?
10 contaminants are reported above EWG health guidelines in Fairhope Public Utilities water: Chromium (hexavalent), Haloacetic acids (HAA5), Haloacetic acids (HAA9), and more in the table below.
Every one of these is legal. Federal legal limits were mostly set decades ago; the EWG health guideline reflects more recent research on long-term exposure. The gap between the two columns is the point.
| Contaminant | Found | Health guideline | Legal limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chromium (hexavalent) | 0.258 ppb | 0.02 ppb | No Legal Limit |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | 0.521 ppb | 0.1 ppb | 60 ppb |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA9) | 1.26 ppb | 0.06 ppb | No Legal Limit |
| Nitrate | 2.26 ppm | 0.14 ppm | 10 ppm |
| Nitrate and nitrite | 1.46 ppm | 0.14 ppm | 10 ppm |
| Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) | 0.232 ppt | 0.006 ppt | 10 ppt |
| Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) | 2.71 ppt | 0.3 ppt | Proposed Legal Limit: 4 ppt |
| Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) | 0.968 ppt | 0.09 ppt | Proposed Legal Limit: 4 ppt |
| Radium, combined (-226 and -228) | 1.26 pCi/L | 0.05 pCi/L | 5 pCi/L |
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) | 2.29 ppb | 0.15 ppb | 80 ppb |
Source: EWG Tap Water Database for PWSID AL0000035. View the full report
34 violation records on file between 2020 and 2025, and none of them are health-based — every one is a monitoring or reporting failure, meaning a required sample or report was late rather than a limit being exceeded.
That distinction matters more than the headline number. A monitoring-and-reporting violation means a required sample or report was late. A health-based violation means a limit was actually exceeded. Most published “violation counts” blend the two, which makes a diligent utility with sloppy paperwork look identical to one with a water-quality problem. 4 of these have no return-to-compliance date on file.
Source: EPA SDWIS, PWSID AL0000035. Look it up yourself
Most of what shows up on this system is disinfection by-product — the trade-off for water that arrives safe from bacteria. It is straightforward to remove at the point of use.
From the blog
Aug 19, 2026 · 6 min read
Two proposed rules, and only one is a rescission. The limits for PFOA and PFOS are not being withdrawn — the compliance deadline is what may move.
Aug 19, 2026 · 5 min read
Most well findings are a slow conversation. Nitrate above the limit, with an infant in the house, is not one of them.
Aug 19, 2026 · 6 min read
Radium shows up in all 15 public water systems serving Mobile and Baldwin County. Every reading is legal. Here is what that actually means.
We read hardness, chlorine and TDS and run a soap test in your kitchen, and explain what the numbers mean. No charge, and no obligation to buy anything.
