Calhoun County, Alabama: drinking water report. Calhoun County in northeastern Alabama has a population of about 116,000, centered on Anniston and Oxford.
Calhoun County in northeastern Alabama has a population of about 116,000, centered on Anniston and Oxford. The county's water comes from a mix of surface impoundments and the Coosa River, with several municipal systems serving different communities. Anniston has one of the most notorious industrial contamination histories in the southeastern United States – Monsanto operated a PCB manufacturing plant here from 1929 to 1971, and the former Fort McClellan Army base adds military-related contamination to the picture.
The Anniston PCB Superfund site is one of the largest in the country. According to EPA Superfund records, soil and sediment PCB concentrations near the former Monsanto plant reached levels thousands of times above residential standards. While PCBs in drinking water are not the primary exposure pathway (soil and food chain contamination dominate), the contamination plume has affected groundwater in the western part of the county.
Fort McClellan, decommissioned in 1999, is a confirmed PFAS contamination source from firefighting foam use. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management's 2024 monitoring data shows PFAS detections in wells near the former base at concentrations exceeding 50 ppt for combined PFOS and PFOA – well above the EPA's MCLs of 4 ppt each.
Calhoun County's contamination is layered – PCBs from industrial history, PFAS from military operations, and ongoing concerns about legacy chemicals in soil and water. Residents near the former Fort McClellan or the Monsanto site face the highest exposure risk.
Check your water to see the latest monitoring data for your system. For PFAS, reverse osmosis is the most effective household filter. Our water filter guide details which systems address military-related contaminants specifically. Pull your detailed report for historical trends, and see our Alabama page for statewide data.