WHAT’S BEYOND THE TAP

North Carolina · water system · PWSID NC7071011

Pender County Utilities: drinking water record

Two things here need attention.

One more thing is worth knowing, and one 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 32,302 people in Pender County.

32,302people served
14health-based violations since 2021
14without recorded resolution
3administrative (paperwork) records

What the records flag

Needs attention

This system buys water from WALLACE, TOWN OF, which has 2 unresolved health-based violations

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
WALLACE, TOWN OF
Seller's unresolved health-based
2

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

Needs attention

14 health-based violations with no recorded resolution

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

Health-based, since 2021
14
Without recorded resolution
14

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

Worth knowing

4 of 29 PFAS compounds detected, none above a federal limit

Most PFAS compounds tested have no federal drinking-water limit — detection is not the same as exceeding a standard.

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 2026-06-30, 7 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; 4 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). 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 Town of Wallace — which has 2 unresolved health-based violations on record. Purchased water is treated by the seller, so the seller's record travels with it.

Also holds emergency-only connections (Town of Surf City) — 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 Pender County Utilities have drinking water violations?

EPA compliance records list 14 health-based violations since 2021, 14 without a recorded resolution. Administrative (paperwork) records are counted separately and never added in.

Has Pender County Utilities been tested for PFAS?

Yes — 29 PFAS compounds under EPA's UCMR5 program, with 4 detected. Samples are taken at entry points to the distribution system — treated water, not source water.

How many people does Pender County Utilities serve?

EPA records list about 32,302 people served in Pender. 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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