Jefferson, Town Of, NC
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 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.
Who runs the water here
Jefferson, Town Of serves about 1,740 people through 950 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Ashe County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC0105015; phone on file: 336-982-2828. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
That is up 3 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Jefferson, Town Of is 3 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 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. Jefferson, Town Of's 3 ppb sits at the 88th percentile in North Carolina and the 82nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
10 other systems share Ashe County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Jefferson, Town Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| West Jefferson, Town Of | 1,321 | 0 (not detected) |
| Jefferson Landing | 653 | 3 ppb |
| Fleetwood Falls Water System | 519 | 0 (not detected) |
| Blue Ridge Manor-Nikanor Sect | 320 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lansing, Town Of | 228 | 0 (not detected) |
| Fairway Ridge Water Assoc Inc | 173 | 0 (not detected) |
| Buffalo Meadows S/D | 120 | 0 (not detected) |
| Laurel Mountain Estates | 70 | 0 (not detected) |
| Blue Ridge Mnr Ashe Lake Beaver Crk Sec | 51 | 0 (not detected) |
| Blue Ridge Manor Ash Lake-Holiday Ln Sec | 46 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Jefferson, 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 Jefferson, Town 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.