Home/Compare/Utilities
Back to Compare

MCDOWELL CO--NEBO vs CHARLOTTE WATER

Water quality comparison — risk levels, violations, PFAS records, and contaminants

Quick Answer

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). MCDOWELL CO--NEBO has 0 open health-based violations and 0 PFAS records. CHARLOTTE WATER has 0 open health-based violations and 580 PFAS records.

MCDOWELL CO--NEBO

North Carolina · NC1056032

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

0

PFAS records

CHARLOTTE WATER

North Carolina · NC0160010

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

580

PFAS records

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricMCDOWELL CO--NEBOCHARLOTTE WATER
StateNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina
Risk LevelNo Concerns DetectedNo Concerns Detected
Population Served9021,163,701
Open Health Violations00
Total Violations01
PFAS RecordsNone detected580
OwnershipLocalLocal
Service TypeSurface waterSurface water
City ServedMarionCharlotte

Contaminants in Violation Records

MCDOWELL CO--NEBO

No named contaminants in violation records.

CHARLOTTE WATER

  • Nitrate

Key Differences

MCDOWELL CO--NEBO has 0 PFAS records vs. 580 for CHARLOTTE WATER.

What Should I Do?

If either utility shows open violations or elevated PFAS records, consider:

  • Installing a reverse osmosis filter — removes PFAS, lead, arsenic, nitrates, and most heavy metals.
  • Requesting your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for the most current test results.
  • Ordering a certified lab water test if you want contaminant-specific data for your address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is safer — MCDOWELL CO--NEBO or CHARLOTTE WATER?

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). Both utilities have similar violation profiles — review the full data above to decide based on specific contaminants that concern you.

What does "open health-based violation" mean?

An open health-based violation means a water system has exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or failed to meet a treatment technique — and the violation has not yet been resolved. These are the most serious type of water quality violations.

How current is this data?

Violation data comes from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), which is updated as utilities report. PFAS data comes from EPA's UCMR 5 monitoring (2023–2025). Risk levels are recalculated daily.

What does PWSID mean?

PWSID stands for Public Water System ID — a unique federal identifier assigned to each community water system. You can use it to look up a system in EPA's ECHO database.

Related Pages