Lees - McRae - South Campus
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
- 99 people
- Connections
- 25
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Banner Elk, NC
- County
- Avery
- 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. 1 health-based violation 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, 2007. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.
Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and uranium: 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.
Fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from March 14, 2012 to April 19, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Below EPA’s limits3
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.73ppm
Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2018
2018: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.73 ppm, in 2012, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2018, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
1.8ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 1.1 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.8 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 1.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 2.9 ppm, in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
1.1ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 0.69 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.69 ppb.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
5 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Chromium (total)
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
- Uranium
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 |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 7 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and uranium results here are North Carolina’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Lees - McRae - South Campus’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 March 14, 2012 to April 19, 2018.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs North Carolina certifies closest to the area Lees - McRae - South Campus serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Water Quality Lab & Operations
Banner Elk, NC · under a mile
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Aqua Tech Service and Consulting
Boone, NC · about 11 miles
Certified for bacteria
Toe River Health District - Avery County
Newland, NC · about 12 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 NC0106422. 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 reportLees - McRae - South Campus 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