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Is Chapel Hill, NC tap water safe?

15 utilities serve Chapel Hill, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and CDC’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

5 of the 15 utilities serving Chapel Hill have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Chatham Co - North, Stoneridge Master, Mannsfield Condominiums and 2 more.

Orange Water & Sewer Authority, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. The worst: PFOS at 4.8 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Chapel Hill’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

5 more utilities in Chapel Hill

By EPA’s estimate, each serves fewer people in Chapel Hill than those above.

  • Chatham S/Dserves 365 people · under 100 in Chapel Hill · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Chatham Pines LLCserves 98 people · under 100 in Chapel Hill · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Foxboro Estatesserves 48 people · under 100 in Chapel Hill · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Beechwood Cove/Polks Landingserves 406 people · under 100 in Chapel Hill · no health-based violations since 2016
  • South Grove Subdivisionserves 75 people · under 100 in Chapel Hill · no health-based violations since 2016

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Orange Water & Sewer Authority’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Chapel Hill

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab North Carolina certifies.

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

  • Onterris Laboratories, LLC - Durham

    Durham, NC · about 9 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (804) 358-8295

  • Durham County Health Department

    Durham, NC · about 12 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (919) 560-7975

  • RTI International

    Research Triangle Park, NC · about 14 miles

    Certified for lead and copper, metals

    (919) 485-5520

All 112 certified labs for North Carolina

ZIP codes in Chapel Hill

Which ZIP codes are in Chapel Hill: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, certified drinking water laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Chapel Hill

Other towns in Orange County with a page of their own.

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