Is Emma, NC tap water safe?
The short answer
2 of the 2 utilities serving Emma have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: City of Asheville and Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer.
City of Asheville, which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and CDC’s records. That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
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 Emma’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Asheville
North Carolina · serves 157,431 people · about 1,200 in Emma
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer
North Carolina · serves 10,122 people · under 100 in Emma
1 result above the legal limit. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5) at 42.1 ppb, above the legal limit.
2 health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Emma
The 3 labs North Carolina certifies closest to Emma, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pace Analytical Services- Asheville NC
Asheville, NC · under a mile
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics
Environmental Testing Solutions, Inc.
Asheville, NC · about 4 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Buncombe County Health Dept.
Asheville, NC · about 4 miles
Certified for bacteria
ZIP codes in Emma
Which ZIP codes are in Emma: 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 Emma
Other towns in Buncombe County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Asheville’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- 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
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water