Riverbend Estates, NC
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5.5 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.
About Riverbend Estates
Riverbend Estates serves about 323 people through 130 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Macon County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC0157108; phone on file: 800-525-7990. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Riverbend Estates is 5.5 ppb across 1 monitoring period, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.5 ppb |
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. Riverbend Estates's 5.5 ppb sits at the 94th percentile in North Carolina and the 92nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Macon County
26 other systems share Macon County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Riverbend Estates. 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) |
| Lbj Job Corps | 270 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cold Springs Poa | 165 | 4.5 ppb |
| King Mountain Club Water | 150 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Charlotte, NC
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Charlotte, 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 Riverbend Estates 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.