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County water report

Buncombe County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Buncombe County, North Carolina.

Water grade

C

Water score

50.9

State rank

#55

of 100

Health violations

29

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

35

8,113 recent measurements

Live streamflow

30%

FRENCH BROAD RIVER AT ASHEVILLE, NC

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Buncombe County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 50.9 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

29

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

30% of mean

FRENCH BROAD RIVER AT ASHEVILLE, NC

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

35

8,113 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

C

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

50.9/100

Health violations

29

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

14.9

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Buncombe County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Buncombe County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 50.9 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 29 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T14:30:00.000-04:00) puts FRENCH BROAD RIVER at 631.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 30% of mean — low-flow conditions worth noting for water-dependent ecosystems. Streamflow is a leading indicator of drought stress, sediment load, and dilution capacity: low flows concentrate pollutants and warm water temperatures, stressing aquatic life and, in surface-water-dependent systems, the source water quality for treatment plants.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Buncombe County has moderate coverage with 35 active monitoring sites with 8,113 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include organics, other and physical. More monitoring sites generally indicate greater scientific attention to local water conditions — and provide the baseline data that regulators use to set future impairment listings.

Editorial advisory

What the data suggests for Buncombe County

Water Verdict

Buncombe County, North Carolina receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 50.9 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. The county's primary USGS gauge drains roughly 945 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 30.0% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Buncombe County, North Carolina show 29 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 14.9 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 8,113 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Buncombe County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Buncombe County's drinking-water compliance score is 50.9 out of 100. The violation rate for Buncombe County is 14.9 per 100,000 people served. Residents who are immunocompromised, pregnant, or have young children may benefit from using an NSF 53-certified filter. Contacting your local utility for the current Consumer Confidence Report will confirm which specific violations were recorded and whether they have been resolved. With 35 active water-quality monitoring sites in Buncombe County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the FRENCH BROAD RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Buncombe County has water quality close to the average county in North Carolina. Its water score is within 2.1 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of North Carolina as a whole.

Advisory text summarizes county-level public records and is not a replacement for your utility's current Consumer Confidence Report or direct local notices.

Contaminants & Resources

Key issues flagged in Buncombe County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Buncombe County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Buncombe County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Buncombe County

Consumer Confidence Reports (NC)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in North Carolina

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

35

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

8.1K

8,113 total readings

Most Measured

  • Organics, Other
  • Physical
  • Organics, Pesticide

Categories measured most frequently

Data from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), aggregating monitoring records from federal, state, and tribal sources. Each measurement represents a single sample analyzed for a specific characteristic (e.g., E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

631cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

30%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

FRENCH BROAD RIVER AT ASHEVILLE, NC

USGS site
03451500
Drainage area
945 sq mi
Long-term mean
2,103 cfs

One representative streamgage (the one with the largest drainage area in the county). Many counties have multiple gauges; this view summarizes the primary one. The long-term mean is the full-record annual average; the percent-of-typical value compares the latest reading against that average.

Free tool

Estimate Your Water Costs

Water Cost Estimate

3

3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Buncombe County:D — Poor

Elevated violations or significant watershed impairment.

Estimates use the national average residential water rate ($0.0068/gal, EPA/AWWA 2023) and EPA WaterSense per-person consumption baseline (75 gal/person/day). Actual bills vary by utility, usage tier, and local infrastructure fees. For informational purposes only.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Buncombe County, North Carolina?
Buncombe County, North Carolina has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 50.9/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 29 health-based drinking water violations over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Buncombe County?
Buncombe County has 29 health-based drinking water violations recorded by the EPA over the past 5 years. Health-based violations indicate instances where contaminant levels exceeded EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). Violations may have been resolved — check with your local water utility for current status.
How much water-quality monitoring happens in Buncombe County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 8,113 measurements from 35 monitoring sites in Buncombe County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Organics, Other, Physical, Organics, Pesticide. Each measurement is a single sample analyzed for one characteristic (E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, etc.). High monitoring density means more scientific evidence behind any reported signal — it does not by itself indicate water quality.
What's happening with rivers in Buncombe County right now?
Buncombe County's primary USGS streamgage on the FRENCH BROAD RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 631 cubic feet per second — 30% of the long-term mean of 2,102.74 cfs. This is well below typical — often a signal of drought stress on source water. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Buncombe County water compare to the North Carolina average?
Buncombe County's SDWIS water quality score of 50.9/100 is lower than the North Carolina state average of 53.0. The average water quality grade across North Carolina is D, based on data from 100 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Buncombe County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Buncombe County has a water quality grade of C (50.9/100). This indicates moderate compliance. Some violations have been recorded but overall standards are maintained. The grade speaks to the public water system, not the watershed — for watershed-level concerns, see the Watershed Health zone. For the most up-to-date information, contact your local water utility or review your Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).
Why does Buncombe County have so many water violations?
Buncombe County has 29 health-based drinking water violations on record from the EPA SDWIS database. A higher violation count can result from aging infrastructure, underfunded water utilities, agricultural runoff contamination, or industrial pollution. Counties with more water systems may also see more violations simply due to scale. Residents concerned about water quality should consider independent water testing and home filtration systems.
How does Buncombe County rank for water quality in North Carolina?
Buncombe County ranks #55 out of 100 counties in North Carolina by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 50.9/100, it falls in the middle third of counties statewide. The ranking reflects EPA SDWIS compliance only — not watershed impairment, monitoring density, or streamflow, which are tracked separately on this page.

Counties with Similar Water Quality

Mitchell County

North Carolina

C

50.9

Water score

Chatham County

North Carolina

C

51.0

Water score

Duplin County

North Carolina

C

51.2

Water score

Data Sources

Drinking-water compliance data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) via the ECHO enforcement database. Scores reflect compliance history and health-based violation counts.

Water-quality monitoring counts from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), federated USGS, EPA, and state agency sampling records over a rolling 5-year window.

Live streamflow from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), continuous discharge measurements from the largest-drainage gauge in each county, compared against the full-record long-term annual mean.

Disclaimer: This data is informational only. It is not health, legal, or professional advice. For concerns about your specific water supply, contact your local water utility.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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