The City of Marion has released its 2026 Consumer Confidence Report, the federally required annual summary of drinking water testing, and the results show no violations of health-based standards during 2025.
But the report also discloses that the city failed to complete required bacteria monitoring in January, and it documents manganese levels more than seven times the federal aesthetic standard, a condition commonly associated with discolored tap water.
The report, covering testing performed from January through December 2025, was posted to the city’s Facebook page and website this week, with copies placed at Marion City Hall and the Marion-Perry Public Library and mailed to the system’s approximately 1,375 water customers.
On the measures that matter most for health, Marion’s water tested within federal limits.
Lead measured 1.7 parts per billion at the 90th percentile of homes sampled, well below the federal action level of 15 parts per billion, with no sampling sites exceeding the action level. Copper also tested below its action level.
Radiological contaminants, including alpha emitters and radium, measured well under maximum contaminant levels, and total trihalomethanes, a byproduct of chlorine disinfection, were not detected.
The report states that PFAS compounds, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” were not detected when the system’s raw water source was tested in 2022.
The report’s table of detected contaminants shows manganese at 0.37 parts per million, more than seven times the federal secondary standard of 0.05 parts per million.
The report attributes the manganese to “erosion of natural deposits; leaching from pipes” and notes the result is a secondary exceedance only, not a violation of primary drinking water standards.
Secondary standards address the aesthetic qualities of water rather than health effects. Elevated manganese and iron are the most common causes of brown, black, or discolored tap water, along with staining of laundry and fixtures.
The report also flags iron with the same secondary exceedance notation.
Several Marion residents have reported discolored water in recent weeks.
The report also serves as formal public notice of a monitoring violation.
According to the report, the system did not complete all required monitoring for total coliform bacteria during January 2026 and “therefore cannot be sure of the quality of your drinking water during that time.”
Total coliform testing is the routine monthly analysis water systems use to detect possible bacterial contamination.
The report states that after the missed tests were discovered, samples were collected and sent to a laboratory, and that all samples “came back clean and passed.”
Federal rules allow water systems to deliver notice of monitoring violations, considered the least severe tier of drinking water violations, through the annual water quality report rather than through separate, immediate notification.
The 2026 report states that the Marion Water System “will take bids by November 2024” for Phase I upgrades to its water treatment facility, including new process equipment, chemical feed system upgrades, replacement of all filter media, and building renovations.
The bid deadline referenced in the report passed more than a year and a half before the report’s release.
The report does not state whether bids were received, whether the work has begun, or the project’s current status.
The Phase I work is tied to funding that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has repeatedly warned the city it could lose.
In March, ADEM notified the city that $2,475,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding for sewer and wastewater improvements was at risk if the city did not respond to compliance concerns by April 10.
The water quality report arrives as Marion’s water and sewer operations remain under investigation by the Alabama Attorney General’s Consumer Interest Division, which served a subpoena on the city on March 30 seeking records related to approximately $1.7 million in utility payments the state says the city has failed to account for in fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
The city’s water system experienced a multi-day outage in late November 2025 that left residents without running water through the Thanksgiving holiday.
The city’s audits for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 could not be certified due to inadequate accounting records, according to the Attorney General’s subpoena.
According to the report, the Marion water system draws from three groundwater wells in the Gordo aquifer, maintains three storage tanks with a combined capacity of 675,000 gallons, and treats water through disinfection, aeration, flocculation, filtration, corrosion control, and fluoridation.
The report lists a connection with the Perry County Water Board to sell water as needed.
The report directs questions to Brian Moore, water and sewer superintendent, at 334-683-8642.
Copies are available at Marion City Hall, 123 E. Jefferson Street, at the Marion-Perry Public Library, online at the city’s website, and by mail to water customers.
