Well water in Buncombe County, North Carolina

In Buncombe County, 2% of 4,907 private wells tested between 1998 and 2019 had lead above the North Carolina groundwater standard (15 ug/L), according to the NC State Laboratory of Public Health (NCWELL).

4,907 private wells tested 1998 to 2019 in state summaries; 362 test results across 13 contaminants from at least 17 wells, 2003 to 2014; nitrate has the most at 74. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built

An estimated 96,247 people in Buncombe County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 38% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 1% of the 96,247 people on private wells in Buncombe County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 1% to 2%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.

What homeowner tests found

NCWELL private well summaries: private wells tested and reported to the state, 1998 to 2019. Shares are against the level the state applies to each contaminant, named in the last column; several are stricter than EPA.

Contaminant	Above state level	Wells tested	Highest	State level
Iron	36%	3,506	210,000	300 ug/L
Manganese	22%	4,904	1,900	50 ug/L
Lead	2%	4,907	17,000	15 ug/L
Nitrate	<1%	2,530	58	10 mg/L
Copper	<1%	3,509	2	1 mg/L
Arsenic	<1%	4,904	23	10 ug/L
Nitrite	<1%	2,530	1	1 mg/L

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Buncombe County. Above limit means above the EPA maximum contaminant level; where EPA has no enforceable limit, the row shows a health guideline or nuisance level instead.

Contaminant	Above limit	Samples	Detected	Median	Highest	Limit
Nitrate 2003 to 2014	0%	74	19%	0	1.09	10 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 2003 to 2014	0%	38	21%	0	0.21	4 mg/L EPA limit
Arsenic 2003 to 2014	0%	38	0%	0	0	10 ug/L EPA limit
Radium (226 + 228) 2003 to 2014	0%	28	54%	0.016	0.48	5 pCi/L EPA limit
Lead 2003 to 2014	0%	18	56%	0.047	0.437	15 ug/L EPA limit
Copper 2003 to 2014	0%	18	67%	0	0.002	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Uranium 2003 to 2014	0%	18	44%	0	0.263	30 ug/L EPA limit
Sodium 2003 to 2014	no limit	38	100%	1.15	6.03	20 mg/L health guideline
Manganese 2003 to 2014	no limit	38	100%	7.92	206	300 ug/L health guideline
Iron 2003 to 2014	no limit	38	37%	0	1,170	300 ug/L nuisance level
Radon 2003 to 2014	no limit	14	100%	2,545	5,310	2,000 pCi/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: E. coli (1), Chloride (1).

Closer than the county

See the sampled wells near your address

The same records, drawn around one point: which wells within a few miles were sampled and what they found, how deep the wells next to you were drilled, and any leaking tank or cleanup site within a mile.

Check my address

What this means

Among homeowners in Buncombe County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were lead (2% of 4,907 wells), nitrate (<1% of 2,530 wells), and copper (<1% of 3,509 wells). These are ordinary wells tested by their owners, so the shares are the best available picture of a typical well here, with one caveat: people test more often when they suspect a problem.

Iron and manganese exceed the state's advisory level in a sizable share of wells; these are mostly a taste, staining or diet issue rather than a toxicity one.

What to test for in Buncombe County

1
Lead
2% of 4,907 local wells tested were above the North Carolina groundwater standard.
2
Nitrate
<1% of 2,530 local wells tested were above the EPA limit.
3
Copper
<1% of 3,509 local wells tested were above the North Carolina groundwater standard.
4
Arsenic
<1% of 4,904 local wells tested were above the North Carolina groundwater standard.
5
Nitrite
<1% of 2,530 local wells tested were above the EPA limit.
6
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
7
Radon
Median local reading is 2,545 pCi/L.
8
Iron
36% of 3,506 local wells tested were above the North Carolina groundwater standard.
9
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
1,287 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.

Test your Buncombe County well for lead, nitrate and copper

Certified lab analysis of your own tap water, bottles and prepaid return shipping included. The Essential well panel covers arsenic, uranium, nitrate, lead, copper, manganese, iron, sodium and bacteria; radon and PFAS are add-ons.

Order the Tap Score well water test kit, from $209 Already tested? Upload the report

Just want bacteria checked first? Tap Score coliform and E. coli test, $99. Coliform and E. coli are the tests every well needs every year.

Want a quick look before paying for a lab? Home well water test strips on Amazon check hardness, iron, pH and nitrate in minutes. They are a screen, not a result: arsenic, bacteria, uranium and PFAS need a certified lab.

Affiliate links: the merchant pays us a commission and the price is the same for you. It does not change what the data above says. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Where to get a well tested in North Carolina: certified labs, state programs and prices.

Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Buncombe County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.

The rock under Buncombe County

Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline-rock aquifers

Igneous and metamorphic-rock. Granite and similar crystalline rock hold water only in fractures. Wells are deep and yields modest, and the rock itself is the source of arsenic, radon and uranium, which is why those three head the test list in bedrock country.

Classification from the USGS Principal Aquifers of the United States (national map, 2003 edition, GIS release 2015), read at the county centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.

Official help in North Carolina

Two places to start that are not selling anything: the state program that answers private well questions, and its list of labs certified to run drinking water tests. A certified lab is the difference between a result you can act on and a number.

Private Well Water Testing FAQs, NCDHHS
NCSLPH - Lab Certification, NCDHHS

Contamination sources on record in Buncombe County

NC DEQ records 1,287 leaking underground storage tank sites in Buncombe County, among 1,287 regulated sites in total. Groundwater does not follow property lines, so a well within a few hundred feet of one of these is worth testing for what that site could release.

1,287: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.

Treatment that fits the local profile

Iron

Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration

Manganese

Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis

Radon

Aeration (bubble-up or diffused) whole-house; Granular activated carbon whole-house (lower levels only)

Systems we would look at first

Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.

For iron

Iron and manganese oxidizing filter

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,800

Air-injection or greensand media; fixes staining at the source.

Free, no obligation

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No water treatment company serves Buncombe County through Well Water Nerd yet. We are signing licensed companies on county by county: they test at your tap for free, walk you through the numbers, and quote treatment only if something needs fixing. Leave your details and you are first in line. Nothing is shared until a company joins for Buncombe County, and you get an email naming it first.

Common questions

Is there arsenic in well water in Buncombe County?

Arsenic was detected in 0% of 38 public well samples in Buncombe County, and 0% were above the EPA limit of 10 ug/L. Arsenic has no taste or smell; a lab test is the only way to know your level.

How high is radon in well water in Buncombe County?

The median radon level across 14 public samples in Buncombe County was 2,545 pCi/L, with a high of 5,310 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.

How often should I test a private well in Buncombe County?

Test for bacteria and nitrate every year. Test once for arsenic, uranium, radon, fluoride, manganese and PFAS, then again every three to five years or after any change in taste, color, or plumbing.

Counties near Buncombe County

Closest first. Groundwater does not stop at a line on a map, so the next county over is a fair second opinion.

Want the numbers themselves? Download the North Carolina dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 362 samples in Buncombe County. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
NCWELL private well summaries: summaries for 7 contaminants in Buncombe County, up to 4,907 wells each. County summaries of private well tests run by the NC State Laboratory of Public Health, 1998 to 2019, compiled by the UNC Superfund Research Program (NCWELL database). Counts are tests, not distinct wells; since 2008 every new well is tested once, so most tests are unique wells. Shares are against the NC 2L groundwater standard where one exists (manganese 50 ug/L, lead 15, iron 300) and otherwise the EPA limit. Medians are not used because more than half of results sit at the reporting limit for most analytes. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 96,247 people on private wells in Buncombe County above 10 ug/L of arsenic, from geology, well depth and land use. County estimates of domestic well users with arsenic above 10 ug/L from the USGS national logistic regression model (Ayotte, Medalie and Qi, 2017), with private well population from the USGS 2015 county water-use compilation (Dieter and others, 2018). Retrieved September 15, 2026.
NC DEQ regulated sites: 1,287 regulated sites located in Buncombe County. Underground storage tank incidents from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality UST Section. Retrieved September 9, 2026.

Non-detects count as samples and are treated as zero when computing medians. Exactly at the limit counts as not above it. A sample belongs to the town containing the well's reported coordinates.