Drinking water quality · 2024
· Verified
· PWSID NC0241020
What's in High Point, NC tap water
4 contaminants in High Point, NC's water sat at or above a federal limit, led by PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) at 2.8x the limit.
- !4 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) at 2.8x
- !26 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 1 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.
- −60 contaminants at or above a federal limit
- −0 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- −0 open health-based violations
- −0 open monitoring / reporting violations
- −2 health-based violations resolved in the last 5 years
- −0 core regulated contaminants never reported (26/27)
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
- PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)2.8× the federal limit11 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 80% of U.S. systems
- TTHM1.4× the federal limit111 ug/L · limit 80 ug/L
Long-term exposure above the federal limit is linked to liver, kidney, and central-nervous-system effects and increased cancer risk.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- HAA51.3× the federal limit78 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
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)1.1× the federal limit4.2 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 45% of U.S. systems
+81 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| Chloramine | 2.7 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid) | 6.2 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Chlorine | 1.85 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Turbidity | 0.21 NTU | 1 NTU |
| Fluoride | 0.528 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Copper | 0.0705 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Asbestos | Not detected MFL | 7 MFL |
| Cyanide | Not detected ug/L | 200 ug/L |
| Nitrate | Not detected mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| Nitrite | Not detected mg/L | 1 mg/L |
| Sulfate | 20 mg/L | — |
| Antimony | Not detected ug/L | 6 ug/L |
| Arsenic | Not detected ug/L | 10 ug/L |
| Barium | Not detected mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| Beryllium | Not detected ug/L | 4 ug/L |
| Cadmium | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Iron | Not detected mg/L | — |
| Lead | Not detected ug/L | 15 ug/L |
| Manganese | Not detected mg/L | — |
| Mercury | Not detected ug/L | 2 ug/L |
| Nickel | Not detected mg/L | — |
| Selenium | Not detected ug/L | 50 ug/L |
| Sodium | 13.3 mg/L | — |
| Thallium | Not detected ug/L | 2 ug/L |
| Escherichia coli (E. coli) | 0 | 0 |
| Alachlor | Not detected ug/L | 2 ug/L |
| Carbofuran | Not detected ug/L | 40 ug/L |
| Carbon Tetrachloride | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Chlordane | Not detected ug/L | 2 ug/L |
| Chlorobenzene | Not detected ug/L | 100 ug/L |
| Chromium | Not detected ug/L | 100 ug/L |
| Cis Dichloroethylene 12 | Not detected ug/L | 70 ug/L |
| Deha | Not detected ug/L | 400 ug/L |
| Dehp | Not detected ug/L | 6 ug/L |
| Dichloroethane 12 | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Dichloroethylene 11 | Not detected ug/L | 7 ug/L |
| Dichloropropane 12 | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Dinoseb | Not detected ug/L | 7 ug/L |
| Edb | Not detected ng/L | 5000000 ng/L |
| Endrin | Not detected ug/L | 2 ug/L |
| Heptachlor | Not detected ng/L | 400 ng/L |
| Heptachlor Epoxide | Not detected ng/L | 200 ng/L |
| Hexachlorobenzene | Not detected ug/L | 1 ug/L |
| Hexachlorocyclopentadiene | Not detected ug/L | 50 ug/L |
| Lindane | Not detected ng/L | 200 ng/L |
| Methoxychlor | Not detected ug/L | 40 ug/L |
| O Dichlorobenzene | Not detected ug/L | 600 ug/L |
| Oxamyl | Not detected ug/L | 200 ug/L |
| P Dichlorobenzene | Not detected ug/L | 75 ug/L |
| Pcb Total | Not detected ng/L | 500 ng/L |
| Pentachlorophenol | Not detected ug/L | 1 ug/L |
| Picloram | Not detected ug/L | 500 ug/L |
| Styrene | Not detected ug/L | 100 ug/L |
| Toxaphene | Not detected ug/L | 3 ug/L |
| Trans Dichloroethylene 12 | Not detected ug/L | 100 ug/L |
| Trichlorobenzene 124 | Not detected ug/L | 70 ug/L |
| Trichloroethane 111 | Not detected ug/L | 200 ug/L |
| Trichloroethane 112 | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Twofourd | Not detected ug/L | 70 ug/L |
| Vinyl Chloride | Not detected ug/L | 2 ug/L |
| pH | 6.2–9 | — |
| TOC | 1.26 | — |
| Combined Radium | Not detected pCi/L | 5 pCi/L |
| Gross Alpha | Not detected pCi/L | 15 pCi/L |
| Gross Beta Particle Activity | Not detected pCi/L | 0 pCi/L |
| Uranium | Not detected pCi/L | 0 pCi/L |
| Atrazine | Not detected ug/L | 3 ug/L |
| Benzene | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Benzo(a)pyrene | Not detected ng/L | 200 ng/L |
| Dalapon | Not detected ug/L | 200 ug/L |
| DBCP | Not detected ng/L | 200 ng/L |
| Dichloromethane | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Ethylbenzene | Not detected ug/L | 700 ug/L |
| Simazine | Not detected ug/L | 4 ug/L |
| Tetrachloroethylene | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Toluene | Not detected mg/L | 1 mg/L |
| Trichloroethylene | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| Xylenes | Not detected mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| PFHxA | 5.3 ng/L | — |
| PFBS | 3.1 ng/L | — |
| PFPeA | 6.6 ng/L | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
1 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in High Point, NC's data. Absent is not the same as absent-from-the-water — it means nobody published a number.
+Full detail: PFAS testing, water source, historical monitoring, and the federal violation record
PFAS — EPA UCMR5 (2023–2025)
2 PFAS compounds above EPA limits in High Point, NC
The EPA finalized the first-ever federal drinking-water limits for six PFAS compounds in April 2024. These numbers come straight from EPA's UCMR5 lab dataset — every U.S. system serving more than 3,300 people tested every PFAS sample at an entry point to its distribution system. PFAS not listed below were either tested and not detected, or not yet sampled.
PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
● Over EPA limit (2.8×)PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
● Over EPA limit (1.1×)PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid)
● Below limitPFHxA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFBS
● Detected (no federal limit)PFPeA
● Detected (no federal limit)Where your water comes from · EPA SDWIS
High Point, NC's drinking water comes from surface water, drawn from 2 sources.
Source
- CITY LAKE
- OAK HOLLOW LAKE
Treatment
- TREATMENT_PLT_F L WARD FPLANT
Distribution
Also buys water from GREENSBORO, CITY OF, DAVIDSON WATER INC, and 2 more.
Compliance history
Federal Safe Drinking Water Act violation & enforcement records (EPA SDWIS). A violation is a regulatory determination by the state or EPA — separate from the measured levels above.
- Treatment technique violationHealth-based2 violations on record · most recent Jan 2025resolved
Source: EPA SDWIS / ECHO. View the full federal record on EPA ECHO ↗