Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works, TN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.91 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.
Who runs the water here
Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works serves about 41,614 people through 17,125 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Anderson County, Tennessee. EPA system ID: TN0000522; phone on file: 865-425-1875. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (2.51 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works is 7.08 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.91 ppb |
| 2022 | 2.51 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.64 ppb |
| 2016 | 7.08 ppb |
How Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works 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. Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works's 2.91 ppb sits at the 92nd percentile in Tennessee and the 80th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Anderson County
4 other systems share Anderson County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson County W.A. | 29,945 | 2.3 ppb |
| Clinton Utilities Board | 18,772 | 1.4 ppb |
| Norris Water Commission | 2,126 | 2.11 ppb |
| Rocky Top Water Dept | 1,963 | 1 ppb |
Next steps for Oak Ridge, TN
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Oak Ridge, 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 Oak Ridge Dept Of Public Works whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.