Gaston County, North Carolina: drinking water report. Gaston County borders Charlotte to the west, home to about 230,000 residents.
Gaston County borders Charlotte to the west, home to about 230,000 residents. The City of Gastonia draws from the Catawba River through Mountain Island Lake. The county's textile manufacturing history has left a legacy that shapes both the economy and the environmental landscape.
Gaston County draws from the same Catawba River system as Charlotte, sharing concerns about Duke Energy's coal ash ponds along the river. UCMR5 data shows low-level PFAS detections. The county's former textile mills used various industrial chemicals, some of which have been found in soil and groundwater at former mill sites.
According to NC DEQ's 2024 monitoring data, county systems met federal standards. The treatment system handles source water effectively.
Gaston County's water quality meets standards. Coal ash and textile legacy contamination are the long-term environmental concerns.
Check your water for current data. Reverse osmosis handles the broadest range of contaminants. Our water filter guide covers options. Pull your detailed report, and visit our North Carolina page for statewide data.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Gaston County, NC.
The EPA places Gaston County, NC in Zone 2 - a moderate-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
49% of homes in Gaston County, NC were built before 1980, and 13% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Gaston County, NC averages 8.3 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide