Orange County, North Carolina: drinking water report. Orange County – Chapel Hill and Hillsborough – serves about 150,000 residents.
Orange County – Chapel Hill and Hillsborough – serves about 150,000 residents. The Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) draws from University Lake and Cane Creek Reservoir. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the county's largest water customer.
OWASA's small, locally managed reservoirs provide clean source water with active watershed protection. UCMR5 data shows minimal PFAS detections. According to NC DEQ's 2024 data, OWASA met all federal standards with margin.
The system's primary vulnerability is drought – the relatively small reservoirs have limited storage compared to large regional systems. During the 2002 and 2007 droughts, OWASA imposed strict water use restrictions.
Orange County's water quality is excellent. Supply during drought is the primary concern rather than contamination.
Check your water for current data. A basic carbon filter handles chlorine taste. 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 Orange County, NC.
The EPA places Orange County, NC in Zone 3 - the EPA's lowest-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level below 2 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.
35% of homes in Orange County, NC were built before 1980, and 6% 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 Orange County, NC averages 7.5 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