Public water system record
City of Asheville
Serves an area of Buncombe County, NC that includes Asheville, Swannanoa, Woodfin and 6 more places · 157,431 people served
Federal records show 1 health-based violation and 3 monitoring/reporting issues for City of Asheville in the last ten years. The most serious issue in this window was a resolved Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule violation.
System profile
- Health-based violations, last 10 years
- 1
- Resolved
- 1
- Unresolved
- 0
- Any acute record
- No
- Monitoring issues, last 10 years
- 3
Key facts
- City of Asheville draws water from 4 surface water intakes.
- Most recent formal enforcement: compliance order (no penalty) by North Carolina, November 2025.
- Record on file since 1993, with 2 health-based violations before October 19, 2016.
- Lead pipe inventory: 2 lead and 42,588 unknown out of 70,048 service lines.
Check whether City of Asheville serves your address
Health-based violations
Since October 2016Violation data reflects EPA records through March 2026. For the most current status, visit the EPA ECHO database.
| Contaminant | Rule family | Start date | Status | Acute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
Treatment technique failure
|
120 | Oct 1, 2024 | Resolved | No |
Monitoring and reporting issues
Since October 2016Missed tests or reports, not contaminants found above a limit.
| Issue | Start date | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Lead and Copper Rule
Monitoring and reporting
|
Oct 1, 2025 | Resolved |
|
CARBON, TOTAL
Monitoring and reporting
|
Apr 1, 2021 | Resolved |
|
Consumer Confidence Rule
OTHER
|
Jul 1, 2019 | Resolved |
Full record since 1993
EPA's records for City of Asheville go back to 1993. Before October 19, 2016 they list 2 health-based violations (1 resolved, 1 archived by EPA without a recorded fix) and 2 monitoring or reporting violations.
| Violations that began in | Health-based | Monitoring and reporting |
|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2 | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 to October 18, 2016 | 0 | 1 |
| October 19, 2016 to 2019 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020s | 1 | 2 |
Most recent health-based violation before October 19, 2016: Surface Water Treatment Rule, began July 1993, Resolved.
Show all 2 health-based violations before October 19, 2016
| Contaminant | Start date | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Surface Water Treatment Rule
Treatment technique failure
|
Jul 1, 1993 | Resolved |
|
Surface Water Treatment Rule
Treatment technique failure
|
Jul 1, 1993 | Archived |
Enforcement actions
North Carolina regulators took 3 formal enforcement actions against City of Asheville between 2014 and 2025. The most recent was a compliance order (no penalty) in November 2025.
| Date | By | Action | Violations covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2025 | North Carolina | Compliance order (no penalty) | 1 violation: Lead and Copper Rule |
| Jul 29, 2021 | North Carolina | Compliance order (no penalty) | 1 violation: CARBON, TOTAL |
| Mar 11, 2014 | North Carolina | Compliance order (no penalty) | 1 violation: Surface Water Treatment Rule |
What the violations mean
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
1 incidentThe system failed required surface water treatment or filtration standards
Untreated or inadequately treated surface water can contain bacteria and viruses
Where the water comes from
City of Asheville draws water from 4 surface water intakes. It also has an emergency connection to City of Hendersonville. 9 other community water systems and 1 smaller public system such as schools, businesses or campgrounds buy water from City of Asheville. 3 other public water systems have emergency connections to City of Asheville.
Emergency or part-time connections to
- City of Hendersonville Hendersonville, NC
Community systems that buy water from it
- Fairfield Apartments Hendersonville, NC
- Hazelwood Homeowners Assoc Asheville, NC
- Johnson-Siler MHP Asheville, NC
- Rolling Oaks Estates Charlotte, NC
- Town of Biltmore Forest Asheville, NC
- Town of Black Mountain Black Mountain, NC
- Twin Creeks S/D Cary, NC
- Waightstill Mountain Arden, NC
- Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer Asheville, NC
Annual water quality report
City of Asheville must give its customers an annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report) by July 1, with the levels its tests found in the previous year.
Systems serving 10,000 or more people must mail or deliver the report to every customer, and from 2027 they must send it twice a year.
Find a posted report with EPA's Consumer Confidence Report search
Testing your own water
To test the water at your tap, or a private well this record does not cover, use a laboratory certified for drinking water by North Carolina.
Certified drinking water labs by state EPA guidance for private wells