Flat Mountain Estates
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
- 109 people
- Connections
- 47
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Highlands, NC
- County
- Macon
- Owner
- Private
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and CDC’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. 2 health-based violations since 2016.
What was found
Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 1.9 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2016. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.
Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate 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.
Chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Dec. 18, 2013 to Dec. 5, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
None of the contaminants in the records below were found at or above the reporting levels.
7 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Chromium (total)
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
- Nitrate
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | The required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL Inventory | Oct. 17, 2024 | — | Resolved |
| Lead and Copper Rule | A required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/Recommendation | April 1, 2016 | — | Resolved |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 5 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate 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. Chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Flat Mountain Estates’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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; EPA’s compliance samples are from Dec. 18, 2013 to Dec. 5, 2019.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs North Carolina certifies closest to the area Flat Mountain Estates serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
EAS Testing Laboratory
Franklin, NC · about 15 miles
Certified for bacteria
Macon County Health Dept.
Franklin, NC · about 15 miles
Certified for bacteria
Environmental, Inc.-Sylva
Sylva, NC · about 21 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
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 NC0157102. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and CDC’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportFlat Mountain Estates must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.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