North Carolina drinking water quality
North Carolina has 5,009 active public water systems serving 10.1 million people. 2,330 of them, 47%, had at least one EPA violation in the past three years, 797 have an unresolved violation today, and 0 are designated serious violators by the EPA.
Active systems
5,009
in 100 counties
People served
10.1M
1,982 community systems serve 9.7M
Violations, past 3 years
2,330
47% of active systems
Serious violators
0
105 systems carry a health flag
Largest counties
All 100 counties| County | People served | Systems | With violations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mecklenburg | 1,223,802 | 58 | 25 |
| Wake | 1,160,876 | 440 | 288 |
| Guilford | 489,049 | 207 | 110 |
| Forsyth | 395,903 | 19 | 10 |
| Cumberland | 360,493 | 90 | 49 |
| Durham | 341,031 | 50 | 28 |
| Onslow | 288,948 | 21 | 13 |
| New Hanover | 251,357 | 64 | 21 |
| Brunswick | 249,571 | 27 | 6 |
| Union | 223,419 | 39 | 13 |
Largest community water systems
All 5,009 systems| System | Serves | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Water Mecklenburg County |
1,206,285 | |
| Raleigh, City of Wake County |
650,000 | |
| Winston-Salem, City of Forsyth County |
391,900 | |
| Durham, City of Durham County |
333,490 | |
| Greensboro, City of Guilford County |
319,588 | |
| Cary, Town of Wake County |
227,300 | |
| Fayetteville Public Works Comm Cumberland County |
226,441 | |
| Cfpua-Wilmington New Hanover County |
212,227 | |
| Union County Water System Union County |
169,685 | |
| Asheville City of Buncombe County |
157,431 |
About the North Carolina data
Retrieved from EPA ECHO on Oct 11, 2026.