Buncombe County, NC
drinking water quality
279,210 residents · 105 public water systems · 17 ZIP codes
EPA sampled 3 of 105 public water systems here, together serving about 175,912 people. Last sampled 9/4/2024.
Health-based violations
Separately from PFAS, EPA records 24 health-based violations across 20 of the county’s water systems since 2020, the most recent in 2024. They involved contaminant 0100, contaminant 0800, haloacetic acids, E. coli, total coliform, lead and copper.
What this means
PFAS are industrial chemicals that EPA describes as breaking down only very slowly in the environment. In April 2024 EPA set the first enforceable national limits: 4 ng/L for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ng/L for PFHxS, PFNA and GenX.
These figures are county-level and come from EPA’s sampling of public water systems. They describe the worst result found in the county, not what comes out of any particular tap — that depends on which system serves the address, and on the plumbing in the building. A private well is not covered by this programme at all.
ZIP codes in Buncombe County
28701 · 28704 · 28709 · 28711 · 28715 · 28730 · 28732 · 28735 · 28748 · 28757 · 28778 · 28787 · 28801 · 28803 · 28804 · 28805 · 28806
Readings are county-level, so every ZIP here shares the figure above. Search your ZIP on the map to see it in context.