Lawrence County, Alabama: drinking water report. Lawrence County sits along the Tennessee River in northern Alabama with about 33,000 residents.
Lawrence County sits along the Tennessee River in northern Alabama with about 33,000 residents. Moulton is the county seat. Water comes from the Tennessee River and local groundwater sources, with several small water systems serving different parts of the county. The county is downstream from Morgan County and the Decatur area, meaning the Tennessee River carries accumulated industrial and municipal discharges by the time it reaches Lawrence County's intake.
Being downstream of 3M's Decatur facility means Lawrence County inherits PFAS contamination from the river. According to ADEM's 2024 Tennessee River PFAS monitoring program, surface water samples taken at Lawrence County intake points showed combined PFAS at 45 ppt – lower than directly at Decatur but still elevated compared to national averages. The contamination is persistent because PFAS compounds do not break down during their journey downstream.
The county's rural character means many residents rely on private wells. A 2024 ADEM investigation of private wells within two miles of the Tennessee River floodplain found PFAS detections in 8 of 30 tested wells, with concentrations ranging from 4 to 22 ppt.
Lawrence County residents on municipal water benefit from treatment that reduces but may not eliminate PFAS. Private well owners near the Tennessee River corridor face a direct exposure pathway that warrants testing.
Check your water to see available data for your area. For PFAS, reverse osmosis provides the most effective household removal. Our water filter guide compares systems by independent lab verification. Get your detailed report for local data, and visit our Alabama page for statewide patterns.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Lawrence County, AL.
The EPA places Lawrence County, AL in Zone 1 - the EPA's highest-risk category, where the predicted average indoor radon level is above 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
36% of homes in Lawrence County, AL were built before 1980, and 5% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Lawrence County, AL averages 7.7 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide