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2,284 North Carolina water systems have inventoried 3,629,085 service lines for EPA. 350 (<0.1%) are confirmed lead and 798,950 (22%) are still of unknown material. Below: every large or city-linked North Carolina utility ranked by lead lines.
North Carolina water systems reported 350 lead service lines and 12,595 galvanized lines requiring replacement as of Q2 2026 — <0.1% of the 3,629,085 lines inventoried and <0.1% of the national lead total, ranking #36 of 51. RALEIGH, CITY OF reports the most in the state (60).
RALEIGH, CITY OF (60), WINSTON-SALEM, CITY OF (51), ASHEVILLE CITY OF (2).
Find your utility in the table below, then check its published service line inventory (most utilities post an address-lookup map) or call the number on your water bill. Utilities must notify customers whose line is lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown. You can also test the pipe entering your home: lead is soft, dull gray, non-magnetic and turns shiny when scratched.
Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, systems must replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines within 10 years starting in 2027; systems with very high counts can receive longer deadlines. Ask your utility for its replacement plan and whether it covers the homeowner-owned portion.
Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead for drinking and cooking, flush the tap after water has sat for hours, never use hot tap water for drinking or infant formula, and confirm your actual level with a certified lab test.
Source: EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18). Counts are service lines, not people.
2,179 of the 2,284 North Carolina systems in EPA's Q2 2026 report have filed line counts. The 350 confirmed lead lines and 12,595 galvanized lines requiring replacement come from 38 systems — 1.7% of those reporting — so lead pipe in North Carolina is concentrated in a small share of systems. 798,950 lines (22%) are still of unknown material, close to the national share of 22%.
Why unknown lines matter: Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), every community water system had to submit an initial service line inventory by October 16, 2024, and lines whose material could not be documented were reported as unknown. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), finalized in October 2024, require systems to keep identifying those lines, to notify customers served by a lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown line, and to replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines — generally within 10 years of the rule's November 1, 2027 compliance date. The LCRI also lowers the lead action level from 15 to 10 ppb. For North Carolina, that makes the 798,950 unknown lines (22%) the pool from which future confirmed-lead counts will be drawn.
Among the 5 North Carolina utilities linked to a city report on this site, 5 report at least one lead or galvanized-requiring-replacement line. The largest — CHARLOTTE WATER (1,163,701 served), RALEIGH, CITY OF (650,000 served), and WINSTON-SALEM, CITY OF (391,900 served) — report 0 lead + 66 GRR, 60 lead + 367 GRR, and 51 lead + 576 GRR respectively.
To check your own line, start with your utility: most North Carolina systems publish their inventory as an address-lookup map or table, and the annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) names the system and its lead results. If your address shows lead, galvanized or unknown, the utility is required to have notified you; if you cannot find it, ask for the service line material on record. You can also inspect the pipe where it enters the house — lead is dull gray, soft enough to scratch shiny with a coin, and does not attract a magnet.
EPA's rule text and timelines are on its Lead and Copper Rule Improvements page. While your line is unverified, our best water filters for lead guide covers NSF/ANSI 53-certified options, and the lead in drinking water guide explains testing and health thresholds.
EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18); regulatory dates from EPA's LCRR/LCRI pages.
Community systems serving 50,000+ people plus systems linked to a city report on this site (32 shown). State totals above include every reporting system.
| # | Water system | Status | Lead | GRR | Unknown | Total lines | City report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RALEIGH, CITY OF NC0392010 · 650,000 served | Lead service lines present | 60 | 367 | 10,366 | 228,508 | Raleigh → |
| 2 | WINSTON-SALEM, CITY OF NC0234010 · 391,900 served | Lead service lines present | 51 | 576 | 3,194 | 160,201 | Winston-Salem → |
| 3 | ASHEVILLE CITY OF NC0111010 · 157,431 served | Lead service lines present | 2 | 219 | 42,588 | 70,048 | |
| 4 | GREENSBORO, CITY OF NC0241010 · 319,588 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 17 | 67,123 | 109,822 | Greensboro → |
| 5 | DURHAM, CITY OF NC0332010 · 333,490 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 37 | 54,372 | 109,515 | Durham → |
| 6 | FAYETTEVILLE PUBLIC WORKS COMM NC0326010 · 226,441 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 247 | 31,568 | 105,290 | |
| 7 | TWO RIVERS UTILITIES NC0136010 · 96,714 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 2 | 22,226 | 34,568 | |
| 8 | HENDERSONVILLE, CITY OF NC0145010 · 79,278 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 20 | 21,706 | 32,725 | |
| 9 | ROBESON COUNTY WATER SYSTEM NC0378055 · 67,970 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 20,926 | 27,161 | |
| 10 | ONSLOW WTR AND SEWER AUTHORITY NC0467035 · 156,755 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 17,422 | 59,068 | |
| 11 | HICKORY CITY OF NC0118010 · 71,393 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 37 | 15,826 | 24,210 | |
| 12 | ROCKY MOUNT, CITY OF NC0464010 · 55,891 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 15,560 | 25,865 | |
| 13 | WILSON, CITY OF NC0498010 · 50,332 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 49 | 15,026 | 26,046 | |
| 14 | KANNAPOLIS, CITY OF NC0180065 · 56,050 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 13,350 | 19,867 | |
| 15 | OLD NORTH UTILITIES SERVICES/FT BRAGG NC5026019 · 65,000 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 1,604 | 4,254 | 6,461 | |
| 16 | HARNETT REGIONAL WATER NC0343045 · 121,885 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 3,745 | 46,839 | |
| 17 | BURLINGTON, CITY OF NC0201010 · 61,365 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 84 | 1,324 | 25,114 | |
| 18 | CHARLOTTE WATER NC0160010 · 1,163,701 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 66 | 0 | 333,871 | Charlotte → |
| 19 | CARY, TOWN OF NC0392020 · 227,300 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 2 | 0 | 73,227 | |
| 20 | CFPUA-WILMINGTON NC0465010 · 212,227 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,785 | |
| 21 | UNION COUNTY WATER SYSTEM NC0190413 · 169,685 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62,976 | |
| 22 | DAVIDSON WATER INC NC0229025 · 154,307 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67,226 | |
| 23 | BRUNSWICK COUNTY WATER SYSTEM NC0410045 · 151,357 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59,042 | |
| 24 | CONCORD, CITY OF NC0113010 · 120,548 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 1,449 | 0 | 44,704 | |
| 25 | HIGH POINT, CITY OF NC0241020 · 118,662 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 226 | 0 | 43,340 | |
| 26 | GREENVILLE UTILITIES COMM NC0474010 · 103,140 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43,409 | |
| 27 | JOHNSTON CO-WEST NC0351070 · 99,027 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37,489 | |
| 28 | ORANGE WATER & SEWER AUTHORITY NC0368010 · 86,500 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 104 | 0 | 22,897 | |
| 29 | APEX, TOWN OF NC0392045 · 83,001 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28,067 | |
| 30 | CLEVELAND COUNTY WATER NC0123055 · 59,395 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,998 | |
| 31 | MOORESVILLE TOWN OF NC0149015 · 52,509 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 26 | 0 | 18,740 | |
| 32 | HOLLY SPRINGS, TOWN OF NC0392050 · 51,947 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,055 |
A lead or unknown service line means lead can enter water after it leaves the treatment plant, so city-level test results understate what reaches your tap. Filter drinking and cooking water with an NSF/ANSI 53 lead-certified system, and see the lead in drinking water guide or North Carolina city water reports.
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