South Forest S/D, 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.
South Forest S/D at a glance
South Forest S/D serves about 84 people through 62 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Gaston County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC0136338; phone on file: 919-653-6999. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
South Forest S/D's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for South Forest S/D is 1.53 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 1.53 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. South Forest S/D's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 17th percentile in North Carolina and the 8th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Neighbouring systems
134 other systems share Gaston County; 31 of them have a higher latest lead result than South Forest S/D. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Two Rivers Utilities | 96,714 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mount Holly, City Of | 19,200 | 2.05 ppb |
| Belmont, City Of | 17,477 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dallas, Town Of | 8,212 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cherryville, City Of | 6,353 | 0 (not detected) |
| Stanley, Town Of | 5,750 | 2 ppb |
| Bessemer City, City Of | 5,730 | 0 (not detected) |
| Ranlo, Town Of | 4,511 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lowell, City Of | 3,837 | 0 (not detected) |
| Belmont Abbey College | 1,325 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Look up your address in South Forest S/D'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 South Forest S/D 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. Small systems behave differently: why small systems go over more often.