Public water system · NC0157015

Active

Highlands, Town of

At a glance

Town of Highlands (PWSID NC0157015) is an active community water system in Macon County, North Carolina. It reports serving 6,614 people through 2,604 service connections. Its primary water source is surface water, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in August 2025.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.

Population served

6,614

Service connections

2,604

Primary source

Surface water

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDNC0157015

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served6,614

Service connections2,604

Primary water sourceSurface water

Owner typeLocal government

Primacy agencyNC state drinking water program

City servedHighlands

StateNorth Carolina

ZIP—

CountyMacon County

How does Town of Highlands compare with other water systems in Macon County?

By EPA's size categories, Town of Highlands is a medium system (3,301 to 10,000 people). Macon County has 76 active public water systems, and Town of Highlands is the 2nd-largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 19 times the county average of 353 people per system, and accounts for 25% of the 26,860 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 Town of Highlands is roughly in line with 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. Surface water means the system draws its water from rivers, lakes, streams or reservoirs. 132 North Carolina systems (2.6%) list surface water as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Town of Highlands?

EPA lists Town of Highlands as owned by a local government. 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. 6 of the 76 active systems in Macon County (7.9%) are also owned by a local government.

Does Town of Highlands have drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in August 2025. The violations listed here began between September 2018 and August 2025. By type: 5 monitoring and reporting, 2 reporting, 2 contaminant level above the legal limit, 2 public notice, recordkeeping or other and 1 required treatment not met. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Haloacetic acids (HAA5) (4 of them). EPA lists 12 as resolved. 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.

Began	Violation	Contaminant or rule	Health-based	Status
2025-08-11	ReportingReport Sample Result/Fail Monitor (RTCR) · code 4B	Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000	No	Resolved
2024-10-17	Required treatment not metLSL Inventory · code 2E	Lead and Copper Rule Revisionscode 5200	Yes	Resolved
2024-10-17	ReportingLSL Reporting · code 4G	Lead and Copper Rule Revisionscode 5200	No	Resolved
2023-01-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Carbon, totalcode 2920	No	Resolved
2023-01-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	Yes	Resolved
2022-10-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	Yes	Resolved
2022-01-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03	2,4-Dcode 2105	No	Resolved
2021-06-19	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75	Public Noticecode 7500	No	Resolved
2020-02-29	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	No	Resolved
2020-02-29	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950	No	Resolved
2019-12-19	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75	Public Noticecode 7500	No	Resolved
2018-09-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	No	Resolved

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.

Town of Highlands: frequently asked questions

Who runs Town of Highlands?

Town of Highlands (PWSID NC0157015) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the NC state drinking water program.

How many people does Town of Highlands serve?

Town of Highlands reports serving 6,614 people through 2,604 service connections in Macon County, North Carolina.

Where does Town of Highlands get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as surface water. Surface water means the system draws its water from rivers, lakes, streams or reservoirs.

Does Town of Highlands have any drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in August 2025. 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 Town of Highlands' 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, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in August 2025. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the NC state drinking water program.

Where can I find Town of Highlands' water quality report?

As a community water system, Town of Highlands 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 Macon County

Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Franklin, Town of	Macon	9,650	Community	Surface water
Cullasaja Club	Macon	800	Community	Groundwater
Mill Creek Estates Property Owners Asso.	Macon	676	Community	Purchased surface water
Highlands Falls Country Club	Macon	650	Community	Groundwater
Wildcat Cliffs Country Club	Macon	445	Community	Groundwater
Iotla Elem School	Macon	400	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater

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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, “Highlands, Town of, PWSID NC0157015, North Carolina”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/north-carolina/highlands-town-of-nc0157015 (data as of October 1, 2026).