WHAT’S BEYOND THE TAP

North Carolina · water system · PWSID NC0416015

Town of Morehead City: drinking water record

One thing here needs 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 18,846 people in Carteret County.

18,846people served
1health-based violations since 2021
1without recorded resolution
5administrative (paperwork) records

What the records flag

Needs attention

1 health-based violation with no recorded resolution

A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment step wasn't met.

Health-based, since 2021
1
Without recorded resolution
1

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

No issues on record

No PFAS detected above reporting limits across 29 compounds

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

Lead & copper sampling

Lead: latest 90th-percentile result 0 ppb — below the 10 ppb action level (sampled 2025-12-31, 4 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; 0 detected.

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).

Where the water comes from

Groundwater.

Also holds emergency-only connections (Newport Water System) — 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 Town of Morehead City have drinking water violations?

EPA compliance records list 1 health-based violation since 2021, 1 without a recorded resolution. Administrative (paperwork) records are counted separately and never added in.

Has Town of Morehead City been tested for PFAS?

Yes — 29 PFAS compounds under EPA's UCMR5 program, with 0 detected. Samples are taken at entry points to the distribution system — treated water, not source water.

How many people does Town of Morehead City serve?

EPA records list about 18,846 people served in Carteret. 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

Search any address this system serves for the full report — the waters around it, what's permitted upstream, and every term explained.

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