Edgecombe County Water Quality: 2 Cities Ranked by the Records

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

Edgecombe 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 Edgecombe 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.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)Detected in 2 systems4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024) · US EPAHighest9.4 ng/L

ROCKY MOUNT, CITY OF9.4 ng/LSample date: 2024-02-21 to 2025-01-15
TARBORO, TOWN OF5.1 ng/LSample date: 2025-03-11 to 2026-01-13

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)Detected in 2 systems4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024) · US EPAHighest8.6 ng/L

ROCKY MOUNT, CITY OF8.6 ng/LSample date: 2024-02-21 to 2025-01-15
TARBORO, TOWN OF5.9 ng/LSample date: 2025-03-11 to 2026-01-13

Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)Detected in 1 system of 2 tested2,000 ng/L EPA health advisory (screening, not a legal limit) · US EPAHighest4.3 ng/L

TARBORO, TOWN OF4.3 ng/LSample date: 2025-03-11 to 2026-01-13
ROCKY MOUNT, CITY OFNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2024-02-21 to 2025-01-15

28 substances tested, none detected in any systemShow

Tested in these 2 systems: ROCKY MOUNT, CITY OF, TARBORO, TOWN 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)
Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)
Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)

2 cities

Cities ranked by the records

1
TarboroTARBORO, TOWN OF
PFAS sample above a limit
Open city report →
2
Rocky MountROCKY MOUNT, CITY OF
PFAS sample above a 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 Edgecombe County2 of 2 city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit

Rocky Mount9.4 ng/L
Tarboro5.1 ng/L

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

Rocky MountROCKY MOUNT, CITY OF · NC0464010
55,891 served
TarboroTARBORO, TOWN OF · NC0433010
10,844 served

Questions

Frequently asked

How does Edgecombe County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 2 cities in Edgecombe 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 Tarboro's main water system: TARBORO, TOWN OF · PWSID NC0433010 · Purity Score 65 (Fair) · 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 Edgecombe County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

2 of 2 Edgecombe County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing, including Rocky Mount (PFOS 9.4 ng/L), Tarboro (PFOA 5.9 ng/L). That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it, so a single sample is not a violation. PFAS were detected at any level in 2.

Is there lead in Edgecombe County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 0 of 2 Edgecombe 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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