Public water system · NC0106459
ActiveSpear Country Store & Restaurant
At a glance
Spear Country Store & Restaurant (PWSID NC0106459) is an active transient non-community water system in Avery County, North Carolina. It reports serving 50 people through 2 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 June 2015.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
50
Service connections
2
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Spear Country Store & Restaurant compare with other water systems in Avery County?
By EPA's size categories, Spear Country Store & Restaurant is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Avery County has 70 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 246 people per system, and accounts for 0.3% of the 17,234 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 transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Spear Country Store & Restaurant is about 65% below that figure.
What does “transient non-community water system” mean?
A transient non-community water system serves places where people do not stay long, such as gas stations and campgrounds, and regularly serves at least 25 people a day for at least 60 days a year. North Carolina has 2,745 active transient non-community water systems, 54% 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 Spear Country Store & Restaurant?
EPA lists Spear Country Store & Restaurant 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. 64 of the 70 active systems in Avery County (91%) are also privately owned.
Does Spear Country Store & Restaurant have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 2015. The violations listed here began between February 2005 and June 2015. By type: 6 public notice, recordkeeping or other and 6 monitoring and reporting. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Public Notice (6 of them). EPA lists 9 as resolved and 3 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.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-06-19 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2014-04-18 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2014-02-02 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2014-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 2012-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 2012-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2010-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2010-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 2009-04-19 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2007-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2005-04-02 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation without NPDWR Violation · code 76 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2005-02-16 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation without NPDWR Violation · code 76 | Public Noticecode 7500 | 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.
Spear Country Store & Restaurant: frequently asked questions
Who runs Spear Country Store & Restaurant?
Spear Country Store & Restaurant (PWSID NC0106459) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the NC state drinking water program.
How many people does Spear Country Store & Restaurant serve?
Spear Country Store & Restaurant reports serving 50 people through 2 service connections in Avery County, North Carolina.
Where does Spear Country Store & Restaurant 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 Spear Country Store & Restaurant 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 June 2015. 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 Spear Country Store & Restaurant'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 June 2015. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the NC state drinking water program.
Where can I find Spear Country Store & Restaurant's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Spear Country Store & Restaurant is a transient non-community water system, so it is not required to publish one; like every public water system, it must notify the people it serves about violations under EPA's public notification rules.
Other water systems in Avery County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Mountain Utility | Avery | 3,226 | Community | Groundwater |
| Linville Land Harbor | Avery | 2,280 | Community | Groundwater |
| Banner Elk, Town of | Avery | 1,164 | Community | Groundwater |
| Newland, Town of | Avery | 999 | Community | Groundwater |
| Elk River Club Development | Avery | 732 | Community | Groundwater |
| Linville Ridge | Avery | 710 | 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, “Spear Country Store & Restaurant, PWSID NC0106459, North Carolina”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/north-carolina/spear-country-store-restaurant-nc0106459 (data as of October 1, 2026).