Wildwood Mountain S/D, NC
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 6 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.
Who runs the water here
Wildwood Mountain S/D serves about 81 people through 32 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: NC0157135; phone on file: 828-586-5588. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2025 (7 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Wildwood Mountain S/D is 10 ppb across 10 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 ppb |
| 2025 | 7 ppb |
| 2025 | 6 ppb |
| 2024 | 5 ppb |
| 2024 | 6 ppb |
| 2023 | 8 ppb |
| 2023 | 10 ppb |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 9 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. Wildwood Mountain S/D's 6 ppb sits at the 95th percentile in North Carolina and the 93rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
26 other systems share Macon County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Wildwood Mountain S/D. 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 |
Next steps for Cullowhee, NC
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 Wildwood Mountain S/D whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 2910 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.