Cleveland County Water Quality: 2 Cities Ranked by the Records

Name: Cleveland County Water Quality Data (2026)
Creator: PurityMap
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cleveland County, North Carolina: 2 city reports built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.

Find my system Open on the map Private wells in Cleveland County

Across the county's systems

Highest result for each contaminant

One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.

Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested400,000 ng/L Michigan EGLE state MCL (strictest US state) · Michigan EGLEHighest6.8 ng/L

KINGS MOUNTAIN, TOWN OF6.8 ng/LSample date: 2024-03-05 to 2024-12-05
SHELBY, CITY OFNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-02-13 to 2024-11-04

Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)Detected in 1 system of 2 testedNo federal or state limit; shown for transparencyHighest5.3 ng/L

KINGS MOUNTAIN, TOWN OF5.3 ng/LSample date: 2024-03-05 to 2024-12-05
SHELBY, CITY OFNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-02-13 to 2024-11-04

29 substances tested, none detected in any systemShow

Tested in these 2 systems: KINGS MOUNTAIN, TOWN OF, SHELBY, CITY OF

11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
Lead (90th percentile)
Lithium
N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)

2 cities

Cities ranked by the records

1
ShelbySHELBY, CITY OF
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
2
Kings MountainKINGS MOUNTAIN, TOWN OF
PFAS detected, within limit
Open city report →

Showing 2 of 2 cities · scores are system-level, not tap tests

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.

PFAS in Cleveland CountyPFAS detected in 1 of 2 cities; none had a sample above a 2024 EPA limit

4.0 ng/L federal MCL · PFOS, ng/LPFAS in North Carolina

Lead

0of 2 cities above the 15 µg/L action level

Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.

Lead in North Carolina

Who supplies the county

Largest water systems

ShelbySHELBY, CITY OF · NC0123010
23,600 served
Kings MountainKINGS MOUNTAIN, TOWN OF · NC0123020
14,784 served

Questions

Frequently asked

How does Cleveland County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 2 cities in Cleveland County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Shelby's main water system: SHELBY, CITY OF · PWSID NC0123010 · Purity Score 100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.

How many Cleveland County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

None of the 2 Cleveland County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. PFAS were detected below the limit in 1.

Is there lead in Cleveland County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 0 of 2 Cleveland County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.

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