Protect Our Water is a community-led mission to defeat current proposed legislation that would allow private corporations to purchase public, not-for-profit utilities.

Eastside Utility District

Chattanooga, TN

The following chart examines the amount of chlorination used to clean drinking water. Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) are chemicals that are used to control microbial contaminants in drinking water. The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is 80 parts per billion. Tennessee American Water’s supply is 67.6 parts per billion. Compared to Eastside Utility, which also sources water from the Tennessee River, Tennessee American Water is using almost twice the amount of chlorine to clean water from the same source. Research shows higher levels of Trihalomethanes, left over from chlorine usage, can result in negative health effects such as cancer and adverse reproductive outcomes. 

• TTHMs: Total Trihalomethane

  • The MCL for TTHM is based on potential cancer risks following a lifetime of drinking the water.

  • TTHM are considered to be possibly carcinogenic to humans by USEPA because of evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental laboratory animals and limited evidence in people. Some of the individual chemicals that comprise

  • TTHM have also caused other effects in experimental laboratory animals following high levels of exposure, including toxicity to the liver, kidneys, neurological and reproductive systems. Source

• MCL: Maximum Contaminant Levels, or the highest of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

• PPB: Parts Per Billion

• Groundwater: Water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.