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Nantahala Village

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
132 people
Connections
54
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Bryson City, NC
County
Swain
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

28771

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Copper, above the action level. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2017 to 2026. Lead at 0.35 mg/L (2017) is left out of this report: more than 20 times the action level, it looks like µg/L entered as mg/L.

Nitrate, arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) 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 Oct. 31, 2013 to June 18, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

6.7ppm

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 6.7 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.5ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.5 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.3 ppm, in 2018.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.16ppm

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

2019: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.16 ppm, in 2013, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

6 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
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
  • Uranium

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper RuleA required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/RecommendationJuly 1, 2025—Addressed
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationAug. 31, 2017—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 31 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) 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. Nantahala Village’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 Oct. 31, 2013 to June 18, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Nantahala Village’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab North Carolina certifies.

The 3 labs North Carolina certifies closest to the area Nantahala Village serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Clay County Health Department

    Hayesville, NC · about 20 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (828) 389-8052

  • Earth Environmental Services

    Murphy, NC · about 24 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (828) 644-4835

  • Cherokee County Health Dept.

    Murphy, NC · about 24 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (828) 837-1215

All 112 certified labs for North Carolina

Sources

PWSID NC0187124. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Swain County

All North Carolina utilities

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