WHAT’S BEYOND THE TAP

North Carolina · water system · PWSID NC0351070

Johnston Co-West: drinking water record

Two things here need attention.

One thing could not be determined from the record.

What EPA and state records show about this community water system — compliance, PFAS testing, lead sampling, and where its water comes from. Serving about 99,027 people in Johnston County.

99,027people served
0health-based violations since 2021
0without recorded resolution
1administrative (paperwork) records

What the records flag

Needs attention

This system buys water from SMITHFIELD, TOWN OF, which has 1 unresolved health-based violation

Purchased water is treated by the seller before it arrives, so the seller's compliance record travels with the water it sells.

Water purchased from
SMITHFIELD, TOWN OF
Seller's unresolved health-based
1

Official record for your water system · U.S. EPA — Safe Drinking Water Act compliance records · retrieved 2026-08-16 · source

Needs attention

PFOS measured at 14.1 ppt — above the 4 ppt limit systems must meet by 2029

This is not a violation today. EPA's PFAS limits take effect in 2029 (an extension to 2031 has been proposed).

PFOS
14.1 ppt (limit 4)
PFOA
7.6 ppt (limit 4)

Measured in your water system · U.S. EPA — UCMR5 nationwide PFAS monitoring · retrieved 2026-08-15 · source

No issues on record

No health-based violations on record since 2021

Records can lag by up to a quarter, and they don't cover your home's own plumbing.

Official record for your water system · U.S. EPA — Safe Drinking Water Act compliance records · retrieved 2026-08-16 · source

Lead & copper sampling

Lead: latest 90th-percentile result 0 ppb — below the 10 ppb action level (sampled 2024-12-31, 6 results in the 10-year window).

The 90th-percentile result means 9 out of 10 sampled homes were at or below this level. It measures the water system's corrosion control — it cannot tell you whether your own home's plumbing adds lead. Results older than 10 years, future-dated compliance periods, and physically implausible values are excluded.

PFAS testing

29 PFAS compounds tested under EPA's UCMR5 program; 8 detected.

  • PFOS: up to 14.1 ppt — above the 4 ppt limit systems must meet by 2029.
  • PFOA: up to 7.6 ppt — above the 4 ppt limit systems must meet by 2029.

UCMR5 sampling (2023–2026) at entry points to the distribution system. 'Not detected' means below the reporting limit (~4 ppt for PFOA/PFOS), not zero. A result above a future MCL is not a violation today — compliance deadlines are 2029 (2031 extension proposed). These results describe treated water leaving the plant — not the river or lake this system draws from.

Where the water comes from

Surface water.

Buys water from Harnett Regional Water, whose recent record shows no unresolved health-based violations.

Buys water from Town of Smithfield — which has 1 unresolved health-based violation on record. Purchased water is treated by the seller, so the seller's record travels with it.

Buys water from City of Raleigh, whose recent record shows no unresolved health-based violations.

Also holds emergency-only connections (Town of Benson, Town of Fuquay-Varina) — backup interconnections, not routine supply.

What the record doesn’t establish

  • Whether your home's own plumbing adds lead or copper — no dataset covers indoor pipes.

Common questions

Does Johnston Co-West have drinking water violations?

No health-based violations on record since 2021. Records can lag by up to a quarter, and they don't cover building plumbing.

Has Johnston Co-West been tested for PFAS?

Yes — 29 PFAS compounds under EPA's UCMR5 program, with 8 detected. PFOS measured up to 14.1 ppt, above the 4 ppt limit that takes effect in 2029; PFOA measured up to 7.6 ppt, above the 4 ppt limit that takes effect in 2029. Samples are taken at entry points to the distribution system — treated water, not source water.

How many people does Johnston Co-West serve?

EPA records list about 99,027 people served in Johnston. Service-area boundaries have known errors — a water bill is the ground truth for any single address.

Sources

DatasetAgency versionRetrieved
EPA/state ATTAINS waterway assessmentsATTAINS_Assessment ArcGIS snapshot (gispub.epa.gov)2026-08-15
ATTAINS waterway geometryATTAINS_Assessment ArcGIS lines + areas (gispub.epa.gov)2026-08-16
Census TIGER county boundariesCensus TIGERweb Counties (current vintage)2026-08-16
NC DEQ PFAS monitoringNC DEQ DWR EQuIS export, samples through 2025-07-292026-08-17
Census TIGER place boundariesCensus TIGERweb Places (Incorporated + CDP, current vintage)2026-08-16
EPA water system service areasEPA PWS Service Areas v3 (hosted layer, item 80c6912ef14f46e480f5afd807767b4b)2026-08-15
EPA Safe Drinking Water Act compliance recordsECHO SDWA quarterly bulk download2026-08-16
EPA standards & benchmarks2026-08 curation2026-08-15
EPA UCMR5 PFAS monitoringUCMR5 occurrence data (collections through 2025-12-10)2026-08-15
USGS watershed boundariesUSGS WBD via National Map MapServer2026-08-15

Records lag their agencies' refresh cycles — a recent change may not appear yet. Absence from a dataset is absence of a record, never evidence that water is clean.

Go deeper

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