Tar Heel, NC Water Safety: 73/100 (2026)
1 ZIP code · 2 water systems · Updated 2026-06-03
Across Tar Heel, EPA monitoring data shows low violation rates and healthy safety margins — a pattern that places the city well above NC's average for drinking water compliance across recent reporting cycles.
How Tar Heel Compares
Data: EPA SDWIS Last verified: 2026-06-03
What You Should Know About Tar Heel Water
- Homes built before 1986: 78% — older plumbing may contain lead solder.
- Estimated remediation: $2,400 per household.
- CDC health risk index: 16.13 — above typical levels.
Who Supplies Your Water in Tar Heel
Residential water in Tar Heel, NC is supplied by 2 separate utilities — not one centralized authority. Each of those providers operates under its own service territory boundary, maintains its own distribution infrastructure, and files compliance documentation with the EPA on its own timeline. Federal data counts 2 water systems in the area, with these providers collectively accounting for the dominant share of household connections.
Overview
We track water quality and home safety data for 1 ZIP code in Tar Heel, North Carolina (population ~1,564), covering 2 community water systems serving approximately 15,011 people region-wide.
No EPA violations recorded across any ZIP codes in Tar Heel — an excellent indicator of water quality.
Home Safety Score
Average Home Safety Score for Tar Heel: B (73/100)
The score combines three factors:
| Factor | What It Measures |
|---|---|
| Water Quality | EPA violations and compliance history |
| Lead Levels | 90th percentile lead concentration vs EPA action level |
| Radon Risk | EPA radon zone classification |
Water Sources
Tar Heel water systems draw from: Groundwater.
Lead & Copper
- Lead data: not yet available for Tar Heel
- 0 ZIP codes exceed the EPA lead action level
Radon Risk
Dominant radon zone: Zone 3 (Low Risk)
Areas with No Violations
| ZIP Code | Safety Score | System | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28392 | B | DUBLIN, TOWN OF | 603 |
All ZIP Codes in Tar Heel
- 28392 [B]
Data Sources
- Water quality: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)
- Lead/copper: EPA Lead and Copper Rule sampling data
- Radon: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Updated daily.
Health Outcomes in Tar Heel
Source: CDC PLACES (County-level estimates). Water contamination can correlate with respiratory and chronic health conditions.
Compared to National Average
Vertical line = national average. ■ Above national · ■ Below national
Housing & Infrastructure in Tar Heel
With 78% of homes built before 1986, lead solder in plumbing is a potential concern. The EPA banned lead solder in 1986, but many older homes retain original plumbing.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS).
Housing Age Profile
While newer cities carry lower aggregate plumbing risk from lead-era construction, Tar Heel sits firmly in the older category. The median build year of 1965 indicates that more than half the housing stock was built before 1986, when lead solder was still legally used in residential copper plumbing — and a substantial portion likely predates 1970, when lead pipes were still commonly installed for service lines. These two thresholds together define the elevated plumbing risk environment that older housing cities carry, independent of what the municipal water supply delivers to the meter.
Over half of homes in Tar Heel were built before 1986, when lead solder was banned. Older plumbing may leach lead into drinking water, especially with corrosive water chemistry.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS B25034.
Cost Context: What Remediation Means for Tar Heel Homeowners
Cost-to-value data for Tar Heel produces a high remediation-share classification — the equity impact here is elevated, placing this market in the tier where financial preparation is a meaningful factor in how homeowners approach documented issues.
At 2.2% of home value, remediation costs in Tar Heel represent a significant financial burden. For homes valued near the median, fixing water and safety issues could cost $1,600–$3,300. Home values here are 54% below the North Carolina average.
Lead Exposure Risk for Children in Tar Heel
Why children are most at risk: The CDC states there is no safe level of lead exposure for children. Children under 6 absorb lead more readily than adults, and even low levels can cause developmental delays, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.
Although utility-side compliance with federal Lead and Copper requirements remains the system reference, that compliance does not extend down into interior plumbing. With 78% of Tar Heel stock built before the solder ban and aggregate readings at or beyond the action mark, a household-level sample becomes the practical way to close that information gap.
Sources: EPA Lead and Copper Rule, U.S. Census Bureau ACS, CDC childhood lead poisoning prevention guidelines.
Flood & Climate Risk in Tar Heel
Flood history in Tar Heel spans 1 NFIP claim and 100% flood zone coverage — enough to place it in moderate-exposure territory where flood events are genuinely recurring rather than statistical outliers. That distinction matters for water quality assessment because the connection between flooding and water safety is not uniform across communities. In low-exposure areas, flooding rarely generates the conditions needed to compromise treatment or distribution infrastructure. In high-exposure areas, it can do so repeatedly. Moderate-exposure communities sit in between: flood events occur with enough frequency to make periodic infrastructure stress a reasonable concern, particularly for private well owners and residents in lower-elevation FEMA-designated zones.
Tar Heel has a moderate flood history with 1 FEMA claims averaging $34,853 per payout. 100% of ZIP codes fall within FEMA flood zones. Flood events can contaminate drinking water and overwhelm treatment systems.
How flooding affects water quality: Flood events can introduce sewage, agricultural runoff, and industrial chemicals into water supplies. Even after floodwaters recede, contamination can persist in wells and aging infrastructure. Flood damage can add significantly to the estimated <strong>$2,400</strong> remediation cost per household.
Residents in flood-prone areas should consider flood insurance even outside FEMA zones — over 25% of flood claims come from low-to-moderate risk areas. After any flood event, test your water before drinking.
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims data, FEMA flood zone designations.
Deep Dive Reports
Detailed analysis for Tar Heel, NC