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Is St. Stephens, NC tap water safe?

12 utilities serve St. Stephens, 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 12 utilities serving St. Stephens have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Icard Township Water Corp, Town of Rhodhiss and Sherwood Forest S/D.

City of Hickory, 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 St. Stephens’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

2 more utilities in St. Stephens

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

Water testing near St. Stephens

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

  • Catawba County Health Department

    Hickory, NC · about 9 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (828) 695-5815

  • Water Tech Laboratories, Inc.

    Granite Falls, NC · about 10 miles

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

    (828) 396-4444

  • Lincoln County Health Department

    Lincolnton, NC · about 19 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (704) 736-8636

All 112 certified labs for North Carolina

ZIP codes in St. Stephens

Which ZIP codes are in St. Stephens: 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.