Durham, City Of, NC
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (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. 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
Durham, City Of serves about 333,490 people through 93,952 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Durham County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC0332010; phone on file: 919-560-4381. 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 Durham, City Of is 0 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 0 (not detected) |
How Durham, City Of 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. Durham, City Of's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 79th percentile in North Carolina and the 40th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Other water systems in Durham County
20 other systems share Durham County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Durham, City Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Hardscrabble S/D | 643 | 0 (not detected) |
| Greymoss S/D | 361 | 0 (not detected) |
| Willow Hill S/D | 329 | 0 (not detected) |
| Whispering Pines Mhp | 305 | 0 (not detected) |
| Canterbury Estates | 293 | 2.74 ppb |
| Fox Run S/D | 272 | 6 ppb |
| Heather Glen S/D | 255 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cardens Creek S/D | 183 | 0 (not detected) |
| Red Mountain S/D | 176 | 0 (not detected) |
| Trapper`S Creek S/D | 158 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Look up your address in Durham, City Of'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 Durham, City Of 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. A zero today does not rule out a jump later - the rules are tightening in 2027.