Bear Lake Reserve 1b, NC
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4.9 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
Bear Lake Reserve 1b at a glance
Bear Lake Reserve 1b serves about 396 people through 156 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Jackson County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC1050057; phone on file: 828-251-1900. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Bear Lake Reserve 1b's lead record
That is up 4.9 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bear Lake Reserve 1b is 7 ppb across 13 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.9 ppb |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 4 ppb |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 4 ppb |
| 2018 | 5 ppb |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 5 ppb |
| 2016 | 7 ppb |
| 2016 | 6 ppb |
How Bear Lake Reserve 1b compares
Of the 1,925 North Carolina systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 5 are over 15 ppb right now and 75 have gone over at some point. Bear Lake Reserve 1b's 4.9 ppb sits at the 93rd percentile in North Carolina and the 90th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
35 other systems share Jackson County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Bear Lake Reserve 1b. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Western Carolina Univ Wtp | 7,800 | 0 (not detected) |
| Tuckaseigee Water & Sewer Auth | 7,528 | 0 (not detected) |
| Fairfield Sapphire | 3,873 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hh Water, Llc | 770 | 0 (not detected) |
| Trillium Links & Village | 610 | 0 (not detected) |
| Highlands Cove S/D | 604 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mountain Top Golf & Lake Club | 467 | 0 (not detected) |
| Wade Hampton Club | 429 | 0 (not detected) |
| Trillium Links West | 424 | 2.5 ppb |
| Forest Hills Water System | 323 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Asheville, NC may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Bear Lake Reserve 1b whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.