Town of Nags Head
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
- 3,125 people
- Connections
- 4,940
- Water source
- Groundwater bought from another system
- Based in
- Nags Head, NC
- County
- Dare
- Owner
- Local government
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. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): 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.
Below EPA’s limits2
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
56.7ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 7.0 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 56.7 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 7.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 71.4 ppb, in 2013.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
10ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 1.0 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 10 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 1.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 16.8 ppb, in 2014.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Lead
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are North Carolina’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Nags Head’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 2020 to 2023.
Testing your own tap
The 2 labs North Carolina certifies closest to the area Town of Nags Head serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Environmental Chemists - Outer Banks
Manteo, NC · about 4 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
JLA International, Inc.
Edenton, NC · about 58 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 NC0428010. 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 reportTown of Nags Head 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
- 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