Download the 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

 

TOWN OF GREEN LEVEL

Water System Number: NC02-01-030

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Introduction

We are pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is a snapshot of last year’s water quality. Included are details about your source(s) of water, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water and to providing you with this information because informed customers are our best allies. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water, please contact the Town of Green Level at (336) 578-3443. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings. They are held at 2510 Green Level Church Road. Burlington, NC 27217, the second Thursday of every month, starting at 7:00 p.m.

 

What EPA Wants You to Know

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least some small amounts of contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Microbial Contaminants: such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife

Inorganic Contaminants: such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming

Pesticides and Herbicides: which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses

Organic Chemical Contaminants: including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems Radioactive Contaminants: which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

Lead in Drinking Water

Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The Town of Green Level is responsible for providing high quality drinking water and removing lead pipes but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components in your home. You share the responsibility for protecting yourself and your family from the lead in your home plumbing. You can take responsibility by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family’s risk. Before drinking tap water, flush your pipes for several minutes by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or a load of dishes. You can also use a filter certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead in drinking water. If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your water tested, contact the Town of Green Level at (336) 578-3443. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

 

We have been working to identify service line materials throughout the water system and prepared an inventory of all service lines in our water system. To access this inventory, contact Green Level Public Works.

When You Turn on Your Tap, Consider the Source

The water that is used by this system is provided by Graham-Mebane Lake.

This system purchases water from the City of Graham, water system number: NC02-01-015

 

https://www.cityofgraham.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2025-Annual-Drinking-Water-Quality-Report-final-2025-003.pdf

 

 

Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) Results

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Public Water Supply (PWS) Section, Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) conducted assessments for all drinking water sources across North Carolina. The purpose of the assessments was to determine the susceptibility of each drinking water source (well or surface water intake) to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCSs).

The results of the assessment are available in SWAP Assessment Reports that include maps, background information and a relative susceptibility rating of Higher, Moderate or Lower.

The relative susceptibility rating of each source for the Town of Green Level was determined by combining the contaminant rating (number and location of PCSs within the assessment area) and the inherent vulnerability rating (i.e., characteristics or existing conditions of the well or watershed and its delineated assessment area). The assessment findings are summarized in the table below:

Susceptibility of Sources to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCSs)

Source Name	Susceptibility Rating	SWAP Report Date
Graham-Mebane Lake	Lower	September 9, 2020

 

The complete SWAP Assessment report for Graham/Green Level may be viewed on the Web at: https://www.ncwater.org/?page=600 Note that because SWAP results and reports are periodically updated by the PWS Section, the results available on this website may differ from the results that were available at the time this CCR was prepared. If you are unable to access your SWAP report on the web, you may mail a written request for a printed copy to: Source Water Assessment Program – Report Request, 1634 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1634, or email requests to swap@deq.nc.gov. Please indicate your system name, number, and provide your name, mailing address and phone number. If you have any questions about the SWAP report, please contact the Source Water Assessment staff by phone at (919) 707-9098.

It is important to understand that a susceptibility rating of “higher” does not imply poor water quality, only the system’s potential to become contaminated by PCSs in the assessment area.

Help Protect Your Source Water

 

Protection of drinking water is everyone’s responsibility. We have implemented the following source water protection actions for example: dispose of chemicals properly; take used motor oil to a recycling center, volunteer in your community to participate in group efforts to protect your source, etc.

No Violations Were Received for Your Water System in 2025

 

 

Important Drinking Water Definitions:

 

Action Level (AL) – The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

Herbicide – Any chemical(s) used to control undesirable vegetation.

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) – The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) – The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/L) – One part per million corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000.

Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (ug/L) – One part per billion corresponds to one minute in 2,000 years, or a single penny in $10,000,000.

Pesticide – Generally, any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.

Running Annual Average (RAA) – The average of sample analytical results for samples taken during the previous four calendar quarters.

Treatment Technique (TT) – A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Variances and Exceptions – State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL or Treatment Technique under certain conditions

                                                           Water Quality Data Tables of Detected Contaminants

We routinely monitor for over 150 contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The tables below list all the drinking water contaminants that we detected in the last round of sampling for each particular contaminant group. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done January 1 through December 31, 2025. The EPA and the State allow us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old.

Lead and Copper Contaminants

The table summarizes our most recent lead and copper tap sampling data. If you would like to review the complete lead tap sampling data, please email us at publicworks@greenlevelnc.com.
Contaminant (units)	Sample Date	Your Water (90th Percentile)	Number of sites found above the AL	Range   Low  High	MCLG	AL	Likely Source of Contamination
Copper (ppm) (90th percentile)	07/23/2025	0 ppm	0	ND-0.074 ppm	1.3	AL=1.3	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
Lead (ppb) (90th percentile)	07/23/2025	0 ppb	0	ND- 4 ppb	0	AL=15	Corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems.

 

Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) and Haloacetic Acids (five) (HAA5)

Disinfection Byproduct	Year Sampled	MCL Violation Y/N	Your Water	Range Low         High	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
TTHM (ppb)	2025	N	32.5	26-39	N/A	80	Byproduct of drinking water disinfection
HAA5 (ppb)	2025	N	24	15-36	N/A	60	Byproduct of drinking water disinfection

 

 

Disinfectant Residuals Summary

	MRDL Violation Y/N	Your Water (RAA)	Range Low       High	MRDLG	MRDL	Likely Source of Contamination
Chloramines (ppm)	N	2.69	1.2-3.5	4	4.0	Water additive used to control microbes

Inorganic Contaminants

Contaminant (units)	Sample Date	MCL Violation Y/N	Your Water	Range Low     High	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Fluoride	7/23/25	N	0.49	N/A	4	4	Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories.

 

Synthetic Organic Chemical (SOC) Contaminants Including Pesticides and Herbicides

Contaminant (units)	Sample Date	MCL Violation Y/N	Your Water	Range Low       High	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Simazine (ppb)	1/30/23 6/5/23	N	0.18	ND- 0.18	4	4	Herbicide runoff

 

 

Volatile Organic Chemical (VOC) Contaminants

Volatile Organic Chemicals were analyzed in February of 2025 and there were no detections found for any of the 21 VOCs.

Turbidity*

Contaminant (units)	Treatment Technique (TT) Violation Y/N	Your Water	MCLG	Treatment Technique (TT) Violation if:	Likely Source of Contamination
Turbidity (NTU) – Highest single turbidity measurement	N	0.29 NTU	N/A	Turbidity > 1 NTU	Soil runoff
Turbidity (%) – Lowest monthly percentage (%) of samples meeting turbidity limits	N	100%	N/A	Less than 95% of monthly turbidity measurements are <  0.3 NTU
* Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. We monitor it because it is a good indicator of the effectiveness of our filtration system. The turbidity rule requires that 95% or more of the monthly samples must be less than or equal to 0.3 NTU.

 

Total Organic Carbon (TOC)

Contaminant (units)	TT Violation Y/N	Your Water (lowest RAA)	Range Monthly Removal Ratio Low – High	MCLG	Treatment Technique (TT) violation if:	Likely Source of Contamination
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Removal Ratio (no units)	N	1.52	1.41-1.62	N/A	Removal Ratio RAA <1.00 and alternative compliance criteria	Naturally present in the environment
					was not met
For 2025 the average raw TOC was 7.29 mg/L and the average combined filter water TOC was 2.17 mg/L

 

Microbiological Contaminants in the Distribution System

Contaminant (units)	MCL Violation Y/N	Number of Positive/Present Samples	MCLG	MCL	Likely Source of Contamination
Total Coliform Bacteria	N	1	0	2 or more positive samples TT*
E. coli (presence or absence)	N	0	0	Routine and repeat samples are total coliform-positive and either is E. coli-positive or system fails to take repeat samples following E. coli-positive routine sample or system fails to analyze total coliform-positive repeat sample for E. coli   Note: If either an original routine sample and/or its repeat samples(s) are E. coli positive, a Tier 1 violation exists.	Human and animal fecal waste
E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Human pathogens in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a greater health risk for infants, young children, the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

 

Cryptosporidium

Our system monitored for Cryptosporidium and found levels of 0.008 oocysts/L.

Cryptosporidium is a microbial pathogen found in surface water throughout the U.S. Although filtration removes Cryptosporidium, the most commonly-used filtration methods cannot guarantee 100 percent removal. Ingestion of Cryptosporidium may cause diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Most healthy individuals can overcome symptoms within a few weeks. However, immuno-compromised people, infants and small children, and the elderly are at greater risk of developing an illness.

Other Miscellaneous Water Characteristics Contaminants

 

Contaminant (units)	Sample Date	Your Water	Range Low               High	SMCL
Sodium (ppm)	7/23/25	30.4	N/A	N/A
Sulfate (ppm)	7/23/25	184	N/A	250
pH	7/23/25	8.6	N/A	6.5 to 8.5
The PWS Section requires monitoring for other misc. contaminants, some for which the EPA has set national secondary drinking water standards (SMCLs) because they may cause cosmetic effects or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, and/or color) in drinking water. The contaminants with SMCLs normally do not have any health effects and normally do not affect the safety of your water.

 

 

Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring

 

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that once every five years the EPA issues a list of unregulated contaminants to be monitored by Public Water Systems (PWSs). Unregulated contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water standards. The purpose of unregulated contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA in determining the occurrence of unregulated contaminants in drinking water and whether future regulations are warranted.

The Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 4 (UCMR4) required water systems to collect and analyze water samples for 20 chemicals and 10 cyanotoxins for which the EPA has not established drinking water standards, therefore are not regulated. The table below only includes data for the UCMR4 parameters that were detected.

UCMR4 Parameter	Year Tested	Source Water-Graham-Mebane Lake Average            Range		Graham-Mebane WTP   Average            Range		Distribution System   Average              Range
Manganese, ug/L	2020	N/A	N/A	11.62	3.66-27.6	N/A	N/A
Bromide, ug/L	2020	21.9	21.1-22.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) ug/L	2020	6,870	6,090-7,870	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Haloacetic Acids – 9, ug/L	2020	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	28.63	21.82-41.02

The UCMR5 required PWSs to collect and analyze water samples for 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium. The City of Graham collected data for the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 5 (UCMR5) in November 2023, March 2024, May 2024 and August 2024. The goal of the UCMR5 was to provide new data that will improve the EPA’s understanding of the frequency that these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium are found in the nation’s drinking water systems, and at what levels. The monitoring data on PFAS and lithium will help the EPA make determinations about future regulations and other actions to protect public health. On April 10, 2024, the EPA announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS that were monitored in the UCMR5. PWSs will be required to comply with the PFAS NPDWR Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) starting in April 2029. UCMR 5 results for the NPDWR PFAS do not indicate compliance or noncompliance with the MCLs. The table below summarizes the detectable results of PFAS in the City’s water during the UCMR5 sampling event.

UCMR5 Parameter	Year Tested	Your Water (average)	Range Low               High	MCL
PFOA, ng/L	11-13-23			4 parts per trillion
	03-13-24	5.2	4.0-7.6	(ng/L)
	05-13-24
	08-12-24
PFOS, ug/L	11-13-23			4 parts per trillion
	03-13-24	5.4	4.3-7.4	(ng/L)
	05-13-24
	08-12-24
PFBS, ug/L	11-13-23
	03-13-24	7.7	6.4-10.6	1.0 (unitless) Hazard
	05-13-24			index**
	08-12-24
PFHxA, ug/L	11-13-23	3.5	N/A	N/A
PFPeA, ng/L	11-13-23	3.4	N/A	N/A