South Elizabethton U.D., TN
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2028). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
Who runs the water here
South Elizabethton U.D. serves about 6,244 people through 2,739 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Carter County, Tennessee. EPA system ID: TN0000646; phone on file: 423-543-3854. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
South Elizabethton U.D.'s lead record
Against the period ending 2025 (1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for South Elizabethton U.D. is 23.8 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, 2 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 1 ppb |
| 2025 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 1.45 ppb |
| 2019 | 21.1 ppb over 15 |
| 2018 | 23.8 ppb over 15 |
| 2016 | 10 ppb |
Against other Tennessee systems
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. South Elizabethton U.D.'s 1 ppb sits at the 48th percentile in Tennessee and the 55th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
8 other systems share Carter County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than South Elizabethton U.D.. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabethton Water Dept | 32,490 | 1 ppb |
| First U.D. Of Carter County | 9,143 | 1 ppb |
| Hampton Utility District | 4,354 | 2.7 ppb |
| Siam Utility District | 3,319 | 0.31 ppb |
| North Elizabethton Water Co-Op | 1,555 | 1 ppb |
| Roan Mountain Utility District | 1,226 | 1 ppb |
| Watauga River Reg Water Auth | 353 | 1 ppb |
| Peters Hollow Water System | 196 | 1 ppb |
Next steps for Elizabethton, TN
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Elizabethton, 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 South Elizabethton U.D. 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. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.