Water Around

North Carolina

Water in Raleigh, NC

Wake County, North Carolina · City overview · Page updated 2026-10-20

PFAS testing · samples through 2024-03-19

Local water overview

Water summary

Where Raleigh gets its water

City of Raleigh Public Utilities is the likely provider for the mapped location in Raleigh. Check your utility bill to confirm service at your address. The sources below describe the supply network; they do not establish water quality at your tap.

Water sources
Falls Lake
Watershed
Upper Neuse

Public drinking-water record

Drinking water in Raleigh

City of Raleigh Public Utilities is listed for this area. Check your utility bill to confirm who supplies your home. These are public water-system records, not a test of the tap water at your home.

PFAS testing in Raleigh’s drinking water

13 PFAS sample results had reported detections. Most recent PFAS sample shown here: .

PFOA

Not detected above reporting limit

Sample date
Reporting limit
0.004 µg/L
Sample ID
Q2412963001

PFOS

Not detected above reporting limit

Sample date
Reporting limit
0.004 µg/L
Sample ID
Q2412963001

PFBA

0.0076 µg/L

Sample date
Reporting limit
0.005 µg/L
Sample ID
Q2332390001

Selected latest compound samples from the published federal system record. Multiple sample points may share a date. A detection does not establish a violation. A non-detection does not mean PFAS-free. PFOA and PFOS limits and regulatory context are separate from these historical samples.

Lead and copper

Lead: 0 mg/L, period ending 2025-12-31. These are system 90th-percentile results, not individual household concentrations.

Drinking-water compliance

No current violations flagged; past records available. 0 current flags and 5 historical records in the federal publication dated September 1, 2026. Historical records are not all active violations.

EPA UCMR5 source and sampling program · EPA ECHO compliance and lead/copper records · Testing and source records for City of Raleigh Public Utilities

U.S. Drought Monitor ·

Drought around this place

This is the latest drought map in this publication, effective 2026-10-13; it is not a live report.

Wake County, North Carolina: 100% of county area in D1 or worse; 100% in D0 or worse. D0 means abnormally dry. On 2026-10-06, D1 or worse covered 100%.

County area shares at or above each severity: D2 99.47% · D3 0% · D4 0%. These cumulative percentages overlap and must not be added. County conditions do not describe every point in a city or a drinking-water restriction.

North Carolina drought and water context

Open the drought map and historical playback · U.S. Drought Monitor source

Published water-use measure

Not Restricted conservation measures were reportedPublished 2026-07-29. Confirm active requirements with the utility.
Loading the local water map…

Drought, streams, rainfall & wells

Latest water conditions

Read each measure with its date. Rainfall, streams and groundwater can change at different rates.

Drought

Severe drought

Severe drought

Severe drought affects part of the county; this is county context, not an exact city boundary.

Older report · 2026-10-13U.S. Drought Monitor

Published or effective 2026-10-13. Water Around last checked 2026-10-20T12:00:15.835637+00:00. This report may not describe conditions today.

Map effective 2026-10-13

Streamflow

Near seasonal range

Near seasonal range

Flow at this gauge was within its usual range for the season.

Older report · 2026-10-19USGS daily mean discharge

Published or effective 2026-10-19. Water Around last checked 2026-10-20T11:59:36.282Z. This report may not describe conditions today.

Higher than 38.5% of historical daily flows for this season

Recent rainfall

3.465 inches in 30 days

3.465 inches in 30 days

15% below the 1991–2020 station normal for this period.

Older report · 2026-10-17NOAA station observations

Published or effective 2026-10-17. Water Around last checked 2026-10-20T11:59:52.101Z. This report may not describe conditions today.

Through 2026-10-17

Groundwater

Low levels at state monitoring wells

Low levels at state monitoring wells

1 North Carolina indicator wells support this regional view. Groundwater can recover more slowly than rainfall.

Older report · 2026-08-05State monitoring wells

Published or effective 2026-08-05. The last check date is not recorded. This report may not describe conditions today.

5 nearby monitoring wells

Your public water system

City of Raleigh Public Utilities

The mapped location falls within this system’s EPA service area. Confirm service to your home with the utility.

Local compliance cacheA local summary of reported violations is not available here. When federal records are available, you can read them in the drinking-water section above. Neither source is a live test of water at your tap.

History

How water conditions in Raleigh have changed

Compare changes over time using the dates and units on each chart. Instantaneous readings, daily averages and individual samples remain separate.

History coverage

Raleigh, NC

Historical measurements are not available here.

location

Raleigh-Durham Airport

1.27 inLatest in selected series · Sep 1, 2026
7 days0.34 in0 in in the same prior-year period · -73.5% from 1991-2020 normal
30 days2.13 in0.78 in in the same prior-year period · -58.2% from 1991-2020 normal
90 days16.77 in15 in in the same prior-year period · 17.1% from 1991-2020 normal
Year to date26.52 in34.92 in in the same prior-year period
321 observationsmonthly resolutionJan 1, 2000 to Sep 1, 2026
Method and recent values

Monthly sums of reported daily precipitation. Drought is a separate source and series.

Method version: noaa-precipitation-history-v1. No smoothing is applied. Axes follow the reported range when a zero baseline would hide useful physical variation.

  • Sep 1, 20261.27 in
  • Aug 1, 20261.21 in
  • Jul 1, 202612.16 in
  • Jun 1, 20263.56 in
  • May 1, 20261.54 in
NOAA NCEI Daily Summaries

water supply plan

Raleigh water-supply planning cycles

57.85 MGDLatest in selected series · Jan 1, 2024
2 observationsreporting cycle resolutionJan 1, 2020 to Jan 1, 2024
Method and recent values

Values retain their plan-cycle identity. Reported plan-year demand and each plan's future projections are kept separate; projections are not observations.

Method version: nc-lwsp-planning-cycles-v1. No smoothing is applied. Axes follow the reported range when a zero baseline would hide useful physical variation.

  • Jan 1, 202457.85 MGD
  • Jan 1, 202051.36 MGD
NC Local Water Supply Plan

Below ground

Groundwater near Raleigh

Aquifers can supply water; monitoring wells measure water levels at individual sites. One well does not describe an entire aquifer or your household well.

Groundwater sources

No aquifer source identified

The supply records do not name an aquifer. Groundwater may still be present.

Reading well data

What well measurements can tell you

A well’s water level does not tell us how much water an aquifer holds. Pumping totals alone do not show depletion, and a surface map does not show the aquifer’s full underground extent. To understand water quality in a private well, use tests from that well and local guidance.

Discovery

Compare nearby and related places

These places share geography or comparable data. Their water conditions may differ.

Rivers, lakes & drinking water

Water testing and assessments

Explore river and lake assessments, measurements taken nearby, drinking-water tests and dams. Each tells you something different about the area.

Official surface-water assessments

Some assessed waters are impaired

8 EPA water assessments are linked to this local watershed (HUC12).

0 supporting8 impaired0 unknown
See assessed waters and official status
Counts are assessment-unit records associated with the HUC12. They are not area weighted and do not describe every waterbody.
Monitoring activity
788 sites611 observations21 characteristics

Water Quality Portal measurements from the surrounding area. More measurements can mean more monitoring—not worse water.

microbial 15nutrients 44physical field 239salinity basic chemistry 86unclassified 227
See recent measurement examples

Turbidity3.4 NTU · 2025-11-20

Temperature, water11.5 deg C · 2025-11-20

Dissolved oxygen saturation82 % · 2025-11-20

Fecal Coliform220 cfu/100mL · 2025-11-20

TurbidityNot Detected · 2025-11-20

Fecal Coliform1500 cfu/100mL · 2025-11-20

This bounded discovery is not the complete historical record and absence is not evidence of clean water.
UCMR5 PFAS monitoring

13 reported detections

Across 240 compound results and 12 samples for this water system.

Detection is not the same as violation.A reported detection is not, by itself, a drinking-water violation or a statement about a household tap. EPA states UCMR results do not indicate compliance or noncompliance with PFAS MCLs.
See reported detection examples

PFBS0.003 µg/L · sampled 7/26/2023

PFOS0.0053 µg/L · sampled 7/26/2023

PFHxA0.0033 µg/L · sampled 5/30/2023

PFBS0.0032 µg/L · sampled 5/30/2023

PFBA0.0076 µg/L · sampled 8/8/2023

PFOS0.0056 µg/L · sampled 8/8/2023

PFBS0.0031 µg/L · sampled 8/8/2023

PFBA0.009 µg/L · sampled 4/3/2023

Nearby dam inventory

659 nearby dam records

These dams are nearby, but may not supply your drinking water. Hazard potential describes the consequences of a failure; condition describes the dam itself.

Ncsu Centennial Campus Farm Pond Dam →2.16 mi away · NC01283HazardHighConditionFair
Longview Lake Dam Upper →2.27 mi away · NC04529HazardHighConditionFair
Carolina Pines Dam →2.31 mi away · NC05753HazardHighConditionFair
Lake Raleigh Dam →2.36 mi away · NC00863HazardHighConditionSatisfactory
Longview Lake Dam Lower →2.5 mi away · NC01627HazardHighConditionSatisfactory
Nearby dams are geographic context only, not inferred municipal supplies.

Waters around you

Rivers and lakes near Raleigh

Nearby rivers and lakes from USGS maps. Proximity does not establish a drinking-water source, public access or shared water conditions.

Water sources

Where Raleigh's water comes from

City of Raleigh Public Utilities receives water from Falls Lake, which stores water from the Neuse River, according to the source records.

The links show sources and suppliers, not the amount being delivered today. Select one for its source record.

Sources traced upstreamSource coverage does not measure water quality or reliability.

Your water system

Where it gets water

Further upstream

Sources and relationships as a list

Documented current sources or suppliers for City of Raleigh Public Utilities include Falls Lake. A relationship does not by itself establish the current delivered amount.

  1. City of Raleigh Public Utilities draws from Falls Lake. Current. The relationship is documented; a current delivered amount is not available.
  2. Falls Lake stores water from Neuse River. Current. The relationship is documented; a current delivered amount is not available.
Water source types explained

Surface waterWater drawn from rivers, lakes, or reservoirs.

GroundwaterWater pumped from aquifers—bodies of rock or sediment that store and transmit groundwater, not underground lakes.

Wholesale waterA regional supplier can supply your local provider without serving your household directly.

Imported waterYour drinking-water source basin can differ from the watershed where you live.

North Carolina detail

Water supply and demand

North Carolina provides utility plans and groundwater measurements that we have added here. These details are not yet available for every state.

Available supply

99.4 MGDReported system capacity

Service-area demand

57.9 MGDCurrent planning-year demand

Projected 2070 demand

108.5 MGDProjection, not a forecast guarantee

Water AroundExplore your local water, with sources you can check.

Water in smaller communities

Explore local providers, source water and dated drinking-water tests.