Chatham County, North Carolina: drinking water report. Chatham County sits between the Triangle and Triad regions, home to about 80,000 residents.
Chatham County sits between the Triangle and Triad regions, home to about 80,000 residents. Water comes from the Haw River and Jordan Lake, with several small community systems serving different parts of the county. Chatham's rapid growth as a Triangle suburb has increased both water demand and development pressure on the watershed.
Jordan Lake, a primary drinking water source for the region, has been under nutrient management restrictions due to algal growth from upstream development. UCMR5 data shows low-level PFAS detections in some county systems. According to NC DEQ monitoring, Jordan Lake's nutrient levels have been a persistent regulatory concern.
The county's mix of agricultural land and new residential development creates both nutrient loading and impervious surface runoff that affect source water quality.
Chatham County's growth and Jordan Lake's nutrient challenges make water quality worth monitoring.
Check your water for data in your area. A carbon filter handles taste and DBPs. Our water filter guide covers options. Pull your detailed report, and visit our North Carolina page for statewide data.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Chatham County, NC.
The EPA places Chatham County, NC in Zone 3 - the EPA's lowest-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level below 2 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
28% of homes in Chatham County, NC were built before 1980, and 6% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Chatham County, NC averages 7.7 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide
21 public water systems serving Chatham County, NC have EPA lead testing on record. The reported lead sample skews toward systems that already flagged a problem, so its exceedance rate is not directly comparable with other areas. 9 water systems serving Chatham County, NC carry a health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violation.
| Most-cited violation type | Systems affected |
|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule | 6 |
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | 2 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) | 2 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | 1 |
| Nitrate | 1 |
Source: EPA Lead and Copper Rule 90th-percentile tap sampling and EPA SDWIS Safe Drinking Water Act enforcement records, aggregated from the public water systems serving this county. Figures are counts of water systems, not a test of any individual home or tap.