The Divide Water System
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
- 89 people
- Connections
- 35
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Sapphire, NC
- County
- Jackson
- Owner
- Private
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Uranium, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What handles itWhat was found
Uranium, nitrate, arsenic, 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, 2021 to 2023.
Above the health goal1
Uranium
Comes from the source
0.99ppb
Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2022
2022: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.99 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2022, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Uranium”
Below EPA’s limits1
Nitrate
Comes from the source
1.1ppm
Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2023
2023: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
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.”
- NSF/ANSI 58
Claim: Uranium
For: Uranium
At the tap, or for the whole house?
These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. How whole-house systems compare.
Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing
None of the filters TapBuff has checked so far carry these claims. Search the certifier listings for the claim above.
Compare five-year costsViolations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Uranium, nitrate, arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are North Carolina’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2021 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. The Divide Water System’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 2021 to 2023.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs North Carolina certifies closest to the area The Divide Water System serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Transylvania County Env. Health
Brevard, NC · about 14 miles
Certified for bacteria
Environmental, Inc.-Sylva
Sylva, NC · about 22 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Jackson County Health Dept.
Sylva, NC · about 22 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.
- 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 NC1050037. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Read up on UraniumWhat each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Uranium
- Get the utility’s own reportThe Divide Water System 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
- Compare certified filtersWhat the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.Compare five-year costs