Skip to content
AquaCensus

Public water system · NC0120103

Active

Bear Paw Resort

At a glance

Bear Paw Resort (PWSID NC0120103) is an active community water system in Cherokee County, North Carolina. It reports serving 909 people through 362 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2024.

Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.

Population served

909

Service connections

362

Primary source

GW

Groundwater

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDNC0120103
System typeCommunity water system
Activity statusActive
Population served909
Service connections362
Primary water sourceGroundwater
Owner typePrivate
Primacy agencyNC state drinking water program
City servedMurphy
StateNorth Carolina
ZIP—
CountyCherokee County

How does Bear Paw Resort compare with other water systems in Cherokee County?

By EPA's size categories, Bear Paw Resort is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Cherokee County has 17 active public water systems, and Bear Paw Resort is the 4th-largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 35% above the county average of 673 people per system, and accounts for 7.9% of the 11,445 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across North Carolina, the 5,087 active systems average 1,971 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Bear Paw Resort is well below that figure.

What does “community water system” mean?

A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. Homes, apartments and mobile-home parks are served by these. North Carolina has 2,031 active community water systems, 40% of the state's 5,087 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 4,566 North Carolina systems (90%) list groundwater as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Bear Paw Resort?

EPA lists Bear Paw Resort as privately owned. The NC state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 9 of the 17 active systems in Cherokee County (53%) are also privately owned.

Does Bear Paw Resort have drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2024. The violations listed here began between June 1980 and July 2024. By type: 11 monitoring and reporting and 1 public notice, recordkeeping or other. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Haloacetic acids (HAA5) (2 of them). EPA lists 6 as resolved and 6 as archived. Resolved means at least one resolving action is on record: the system returned to compliance, the rule no longer applies, or no further action was needed. Archived means the violation was not marked resolved but is more than five years past the end of the noncompliance period, so it no longer counts toward current compliance status.

BeganViolationContaminant or ruleHealth-basedStatus
2024-07-01Public notice, recordkeeping or otherConsumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report · code 71Consumer Confidence Rulecode 7000NoResolved
2024-01-01Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456NoResolved
2019-09-01Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456NoResolved
2019-09-01Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950NoResolved
2005-02-01Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100NoResolved
2005-01-01Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27Chlorinecode 0999NoResolved
1980-06-24Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03Fluoridecode 1025NoArchived
1980-06-24Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03Cadmiumcode 1015NoArchived
1980-06-24Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03Nitratecode 1040NoArchived
1980-06-24Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03Chromiumcode 1020NoArchived
1980-06-24Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03Seleniumcode 1045NoArchived
1980-06-24Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03Chromiumcode 1020NoArchived

The 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, newest first.Labels and codes come from EPA's SDWIS reference tables. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found. "Health-based" marks violations of a legal limit or required treatment.

Bear Paw Resort: frequently asked questions

Who runs Bear Paw Resort?

Bear Paw Resort (PWSID NC0120103) is a community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the NC state drinking water program.

How many people does Bear Paw Resort serve?

Bear Paw Resort reports serving 909 people through 362 service connections in Cherokee County, North Carolina.

Where does Bear Paw Resort get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers.

Does Bear Paw Resort have any drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2024. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found.

Is Bear Paw Resort's water safe to drink?

AquaCensus shows EPA compliance records, not current water test results, so it cannot say whether the water is safe at a given moment. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2024. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the NC state drinking water program.

Where can I find Bear Paw Resort's water quality report?

As a community water system, Bear Paw Resort must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year. The system can provide a copy on request.

Other water systems in Cherokee County

Water systemCountyPopulation servedTypeSource
Murphy, Town ofCherokee4,498CommunitySurface water
Andrews, Town ofCherokee3,284CommunitySurface water
Marble Community Wtr SystemCherokee999CommunityGroundwater
Ranger Elem SchoolCherokee350Non-transient non-communityGroundwater
The Mountain Folk CenterCherokee300Transient non-communityGroundwater
Hiwassee Dam SchoolCherokee300Non-transient non-communityGroundwater

Related pages

Working with water-system records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.

About this data

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: AquaCensus, “Bear Paw Resort, PWSID NC0120103, North Carolina”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/north-carolina/bear-paw-resort-nc0120103 (data as of October 1, 2026).