Drinking water quality · 2024
· Verified
What's in Greensboro, NC tap water
Only 9 of 27 core regulated contaminants were reported for Greensboro, NC. What was measured is not clean — but most of the picture is missing.
- !1 contaminant at or above a federal limit — worst is PFOS at 4.5x
- !3 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- !9 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 18 never appear in this report
- ✓No open federal violations
+How this score is calculated
Every system starts at 100. Points come off for measured levels, for the federal violation record, and for how much of the core regulated set the utility actually reported. All three inputs are the utility's own published numbers and EPA's own records.
- −36 contaminants at or above a federal limit
- −12 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- −0 open health-based violations
- −0 open monitoring / reporting violations
- −0 health-based violations resolved in the last 5 years
- −16 core regulated contaminants never reported (9/27)
A 90–100 · B 80–89 · C 70–79 · D 60–69 · F below 60. A system reporting under a third of the core set is capped at C however clean its numbers look — a short report is not a clean bill of health.
Full grading methodology, constant for constant →What to worry about
- PFOS4.5× the federal limit18.1 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, thyroid disease, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
higher than 85% of U.S. systems
- HAA598% of the federal limit59 ug/L · limit 60 ug/L
Long-term exposure above the federal limit is associated with an increased cancer risk.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- PFOA91% of the federal limit3.65 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, liver damage, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
higher than 35% of U.S. systems
- Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid91% of the federal limit9.1 ng/L · limit 10 ng/L
Regulated by the EPA at 10 parts per trillion and included in the PFAS Hazard Index.
higher than 75% of U.S. systems
+14 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 61 ug/L | 80 ug/L |
| Chloramine | 2.1 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Turbidity | 0.38 NTU | 1 NTU |
| Copper | 0.18 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Fluoride | 0.55 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Dalapon | 0.0017 ug/L | 200 ug/L |
| Lead | Not detected ug/L | 15 ug/L |
| Escherichia coli (E. coli) | 4 | 0 |
| Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid | 2.4 ng/L | — |
| Perfluoroheptanoic acid | 1.87 ng/L | — |
| Perfluorohexanoic acid | 5.22 ng/L | — |
| Perfluoropentanoic acid | 5 ng/L | — |
| PFBA | 4.15 ng/L | — |
| TOC | 1.2 | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
18 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in Greensboro, NC's data. Absent is not the same as absent-from-the-water — it means nobody published a number.