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Is Raleigh, NC tap water safe?

15 utilities serve Raleigh, 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

3 of the 15 utilities serving Raleigh have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Bayleaf Master, Berkshire Downs and Neuse Woods Mh S/D.

City of Raleigh, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. The worst: PFOS at 5.6 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

The water from City of Raleigh is soft, an average of 25 mg/L (1.5 grains per gallon). How it compares.

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 Raleigh’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

5 more utilities in Raleigh

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

  • Heatherstone West S/Dserves 234 people · nearly all in Raleigh · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Willow Creek S/Dserves 74 people · nearly all in Raleigh · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Meadow Ridge S/Dserves 453 people · about 260 in Raleigh · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Neuse Woods Mh S/Dserves 287 people · nearly all in Raleigh · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Bella Vista S/Dserves 186 people · nearly all in Raleigh · 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 City of Raleigh’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 Raleigh

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 Raleigh, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • NC State Lab of Public Health

    Raleigh, NC · about 4 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity

    (919) 733-7308

  • Wake County Human Services-Public Health Ctr.

    Raleigh, NC · about 9 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (919) 250-4437

  • Eurofins Built Env. Testing East - Cary

    Cary, NC · about 9 miles

    Certified for asbestos

    (919) 481-1413

All 112 certified labs for North Carolina

ZIP codes in Raleigh

Which ZIP codes are in Raleigh: 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 Raleigh

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

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