Laurel Ridge, NC
Exceeded the action level in the past
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 result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
Who runs the water here
Laurel Ridge serves about 115 people through 48 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: NC0157137; phone on file: 828-586-5588. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2022 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Laurel Ridge is 113 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 113 ppb over 15 |
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. Laurel Ridge's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 25th percentile in North Carolina and the 11th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Nearby utilities
26 other systems share Macon County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Laurel Ridge. 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) |
| Cold Springs Poa | 165 | 4.5 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cullowhee, 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 Laurel Ridge 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. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.