Walnut Tree S/D, NC
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5.5 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). 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 Walnut Tree S/D
Walnut Tree S/D serves about 112 people through 44 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Surry County, North Carolina. EPA system ID: NC0286150; phone on file: 919-653-6999. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Walnut Tree S/D's lead record
Against the period ending 2025 (6.1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Walnut Tree S/D is 6.1 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 5.5 ppb |
| 2025 | 6.1 ppb |
| 2025 | 6.1 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 2.3 ppb |
Where this result ranks
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. Walnut Tree S/D's 5.5 ppb sits at the 94th percentile in North Carolina and the 92nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
34 other systems share Surry County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Walnut Tree S/D. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Airy, City Of | 10,685 | 0 (not detected) |
| Elkin, Town Of | 4,076 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dobson, Town Of | 2,615 | 0 (not detected) |
| Pilot Mountain, Town Of | 1,976 | 0 (not detected) |
| Wedgewood/Town And Country Woods | 587 | 6.1 ppb |
| Hillcrest/Mcbride Heights S/D | 491 | 7 ppb |
| Hollows Water System (The) | 378 | 0 (not detected) |
| Woodbridge S/D | 318 | 0 (not detected) |
| Greenfield Water System | 244 | 0 (not detected) |
| Colonial Woods Water System | 206 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cary, 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 Walnut Tree S/D whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 2600 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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.