Burke County Omara
What EPA’s and CDC’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.
- Serves
- 350 people
- Connections
- 24
- Water source
- Surface water bought from another system
- Based in
- Rutherford Col, NC
- County
- Burke
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
Haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): North Carolina’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
62ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 45.5 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 62 ppb, in 2022, above EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 45.5 ppb. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 35 ppb, in 2018.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Below EPA’s limits1
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
79.5ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 65 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 79.5 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 65 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 65 ppb, in 2016.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Lead
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 3 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are North Carolina’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Burke County Omara’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.
Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.
What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.
Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; CDC’s yearly averages for North Carolina cover 2020 to 2023.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs North Carolina certifies closest to the area Burke County Omara serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Catawba County Health Department
Hickory, NC · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria
Water Tech Laboratories, Inc.
Granite Falls, NC · about 14 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Lincoln County Health Department
Lincolnton, NC · about 20 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, yearly averages North Carolina supplied to CDC, 2020 to 2023, read Oct. 8, 2026. TapBuff’s comparisons with EPA’s limits are its own, not CDC’s or North Carolina’s.
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, certified drinking water laboratories, read Oct. 11, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID NC0112065. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Read up on Haloacetic acids (HAA5)What each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Get the utility’s own reportBurke County Omara must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded