Brownlow Utility District, TN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
About Brownlow Utility District
Brownlow Utility District serves about 683 people through 269 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Johnson County, Tennessee. EPA system ID: TN0000480; phone on file: 423-727-1393. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2022 (1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Brownlow Utility District is 9.65 ppb across 10 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 ppb |
| 2022 | 1 ppb |
| 2021 | 1 ppb |
| 2020 | 9.65 ppb |
| 2020 | 8.22 ppb |
| 2019 | 3.47 ppb |
| 2019 | 3.41 ppb |
| 2019 | 3.24 ppb |
| 2019 | 4.05 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.17 ppb |
How Brownlow Utility District compares
Of the 453 Tennessee systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 0 are over 15 ppb right now and 10 have gone over at some point. Brownlow Utility District's 1 ppb sits at the 28th percentile in Tennessee and the 53rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Johnson County
2 other systems share Johnson County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Brownlow Utility District. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain City Water Dept | 9,304 | 0.9 ppb |
| Carderview Utility District | 1,049 | 1 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Mountain City, TN may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Brownlow Utility District whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1620 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.