North Carolina
Polk County drinking water quality
26 active public water systems serve 12,956 people in Polk County. 16 are compliant, 10 had at least one EPA violation in the past three years, 0 are designated serious violators, and 1 carries a health flag.
Needs attention
Community water systems
7 systems, largest first| System | Serves | Status | Rules violated, 3 yr | Unresolved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tryon, Town of Tryon |
5,494 | 2 | 0 | |
|
Columbus Town of Columbus |
2,489 | 10 | 3 | |
|
Saluda City of Saluda |
1,814 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Polk County Water System Mill Spring |
838 | 1 | 0 | |
|
Melmont Water System Tryon |
127 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Brights Creek Water System Mill Spring |
99 | 2 | 0 | |
|
The Brow Condominiums Columbus |
96 | 0 | 0 |
Non-community systems (19: schools, campgrounds, workplaces, restaurants)
These systems serve places people visit rather than homes.
| System | Serves | Status | Rules violated, 3 yr | Unresolved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Foothills Community Chapel Columbus |
300 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Orchard Lake Campground Saluda |
280 | 1 | 1 | |
|
Coopers Gap Baptist Church Mill Spring |
250 | 1 | 1 | |
|
Big Level Baptist Church Mill Spring |
100 | 1 | 0 | |
|
Dollar General Store-Mill Spring Mill Spring |
100 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Faith Baptist Church Mill Spring |
100 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Pea Ridge Baptist Church Mill Spring |
100 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Peniel Baptist Church Columbus |
100 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Silver Creek Campground Mill Springs |
100 | 1 | 0 | |
|
Pavillon International Mill Spring |
99 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Green Crk Missionary Baptist Tryon |
90 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Silver Creek Baptist CH Mill Spring |
60 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Beneficial Foods Columbus |
50 | 0 | 0 | |
|
McGuinn`s Store Mill Springs |
50 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Mill Creek Church Tryon |
50 | 1 | 1 | |
|
Pleasant Grove Bapt Church Rutherfordton |
50 | 1 | 1 | |
|
Sandy Springs Baptist Church Rutherfordton |
50 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Green River Lodge Saluda |
40 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Union Grove Baptist Church Columbus |
30 | 0 | 0 |
Inactive systems (78, no longer operating or reporting)
Kept for the record and excluded from the county totals above. Browse inactive systems.
About this data
Totals cover active systems. Systems serving more than one county are counted in each county. EPA counts the rules a system was in violation of, not the individual violations; one rule can carry several.
Source: the U.S. EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online system (ECHO), which publishes the federal Safe Drinking Water Information System. EPA's terms and values are shown as published. The North Carolina records are from EPA's data refresh of Oct 7, 2026; EPA refreshes this data quarterly, and states report to EPA with a lag of three to six months, so the newest violations may not appear yet. Retrieved from ECHO on Oct 11, 2026.