Cold Springs Poa, NC
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4.5 ppb (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. 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.
About Cold Springs Poa
Cold Springs Poa serves about 165 people through 65 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Macon County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC0157138; phone on file: 828-787-1581. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Cold Springs Poa's lead record
That is up 4.5 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Cold Springs Poa is 4.5 ppb across 2 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 4.5 ppb |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
How Cold Springs Poa 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. Cold Springs Poa's 4.5 ppb sits at the 92nd percentile in North Carolina and the 89th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Macon County
26 other systems share Macon County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Cold Springs Poa. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin, Town Of | 9,992 | 3 ppb |
| Highlands, Town Of | 6,614 | 4 ppb |
| Cullasaja Club | 800 | 3 ppb |
| Mill Creek Estates Property Owners Asso. | 676 | 0 (not detected) |
| Highlands Falls Country Club | 650 | 10 ppb |
| Wildcat Cliffs Country Club | 445 | 0 (not detected) |
| Watauga Vista | 361 | 0 (not detected) |
| Riverbend Estates | 323 | 5.5 ppb |
| Lbj Job Corps | 270 | 0 (not detected) |
| King Mountain Club Water | 150 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Highlands, 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 Cold Springs Poa whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1640 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.