City of Toccoa's 2016 Water Quality Report

Clean drinking water is one of the most vital factors in city's ecosystem. The United States has one of the cleanest and most reliable source of drinking water across the globe. In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to protect public health, including by regulating public water systems.  This act requires the EPA to establish and enforce standards  that public drinking water systems must comply with. You can read about the regulations on the EPA's website where they cover things such as microorgansms, disinfectants, and inorganic chemicals. About 90% of people in the U.S. rely on water from regulated systems, the other 10% use private wells which are not regulated under the SDWA.  People who use private wells need to take precautions to ensure their drinking water is safe. Learn more about private wells on the EPA website.

The City of Toccoa's Water Department provides water to over 10,000 customers and serves in excess 40,000 people. They also export water to two cities, one in Stephens County and one in Habersham County, as well as two adjacent counties, Franklin County and Banks Countyernate approximately 2.5 miles north of the city, which is supplemented by pumping water from Davidson Creek and Lake Yonah.

The City of Toccoa recently released their 2016 Drinking Water Quality Report. But why should you care? How does this report impact you and your household?


This is the 19th edition of COT's water quality report. In 2016, they treated 1.36 billion gallons. They performed over 47,320 chemical analyses and 3,552 microbiological tests.

The most important term on this report is MCL. MCL is the maximum contaminant level which is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed. How do you know if your drinking water is safe? It's simpler than it seems - compare the Amount Detected to the Maximum Contaminant Level.

For Copper, the Amount Detected is only 1.3% of the maximum level allowed where they detected 160 ppb and the maximum level allowed is 1300 ppb. This means copper is not an issue. Fluoride was detected at .81 ppm (parts per million) when the max level is 4.0 ppm, which can most likely be attributed to corrosion of household plumbing systems. 

The most astounding and reassuring figure on this report is the Lead detection. When it comes to paint or water, the word 'lead' brings fear. Thankfully, the City of Toccoa detected no lead in our water system, even though the MCL is 15 ppb - so we can all rest easy. 

Turbidity is how water cloudiness is measured - which has a different measurements than the above substances. It is a factor we hardly notice because we are numb to the clearness of our drinking water, but some developing and third world countries have to resort to drinking water that has the cloudiness of Lake Hartwell. In the 2016 report, the amount detected was 100%, meaning the 100% of the samples were below 0.3 NTU. The smallest turbidity the human eye can see is 5 NTU and our water is currently below 0.3. Our water meets 100% of the EPA's standard.

Making 1.36 billion gallons of water drinkable is no easy task, and yet in every category, the City of Toccoa's water supply is significantly under the MCL. Our city does an incredible job at getting our citizens and our industries the clean water they need.

You can view and download the report on The City of Toccoa's Website. In an effort to keep out valued customers informed about our water utilities, tours are offered throughout the year and can be arranged by calling John Estes at 706-282-3264.