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Town of East Arcadia

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
633 people
Connections
253
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
East Arcadia, NC
County
Bladen
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

28456

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1996 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate: 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, chromium (total) and uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Dec. 17, 2013 to Dec. 18, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

66.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 66.7 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2023. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 52.5 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

6.0ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 6.0 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

13.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 13.1 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 14.3 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.32ppm

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

2019 average: 0.3 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.32 ppm, in 2017, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.33 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.3 ppm.

What handles it

4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Nitrate
  • 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.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 20230.082 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 16 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate 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, chromium (total) and uranium come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Town of East Arcadia’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. 17, 2013 to Dec. 18, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Town of East Arcadia’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 Town of East Arcadia serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • New Hanover County Health Dept.

    Wilmington, NC · about 20 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (910) 798-6642

  • Brunswick County Health Department

    Bolivia, NC · about 25 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (910) 253-2261

  • Cape Fear Analytical, LLC

    Wilmington, NC · about 25 miles

    Certified for organic chemicals

    (910) 795-0421

All 112 certified labs for North Carolina

Sources

PWSID NC0309050. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.