Burke County Omara, NC
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2026-2028). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
Who runs the water here
Burke County Omara serves about 350 people through 24 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Burke County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC0112065; phone on file: 828-764-9062. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2025 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Burke County Omara is 0 ppb across 2 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
Against other North Carolina systems
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. Burke County Omara's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 46th percentile in North Carolina and the 20th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Other water systems in Burke County
16 other systems share Burke County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Burke County Omara. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Morganton City Of | 27,221 | 0 (not detected) |
| Valdese, Town Of | 13,571 | 0 (not detected) |
| Icard Township Water Corp | 7,821 | 0 (not detected) |
| Brentwood Water Association | 6,038 | 0 (not detected) |
| Brentwood-Jamestown Road | 6,035 | 0 (not detected) |
| Burke Co. Water-South | 5,207 | 0 (not detected) |
| Drexel Town Of | 3,302 | 0 (not detected) |
| Rutherford College Town Of | 2,083 | 0 (not detected) |
| Burke Co-Airport Rhodhiss | 559 | 0 (not detected) |
| East Shores S/D | 350 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Look up your address in Burke County Omara's service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Burke County Omara 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. A zero today does not rule out a jump later - the rules are tightening in 2027.