Is Shelby, NC tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 3 utilities serving Shelby has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Town of Boiling Springs.
Cleveland County Water, 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 Shelby’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Cleveland County Water
North Carolina · serves 59,395 people · about 3,400 in Shelby
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Shelby
North Carolina · serves 23,600 people · about 2,500 in Shelby
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 0.009 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Town of Boiling Springs
North Carolina · serves 4,769 people · about 400 in Shelby
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
1 health-based violation since 2016
Water testing near Shelby
The 3 labs North Carolina certifies closest to Shelby, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Kace Environmental Inc.
Mooresboro, NC · about 10 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Gaston County Health Dept.
Gastonia, NC · about 21 miles
Certified for bacteria
Lincoln County Health Department
Lincolnton, NC · about 23 miles
Certified for bacteria
Which ZIP codes are in Shelby: 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 Shelby
Other towns in Cleveland County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Cleveland County Water’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