Is there PFAS in Pender County Utilities water?
Yes, at low levels. 4 PFAS were detected, all below EPA's 2024 limits.
Pender County Utilities
Serves 32,302 people · 10 PFOA samples from 4 sampling points · Aug 2023 to May 2024
PFAS found, below EPA limits
PFOA Perfluorooctanoic acid
not detected
PFOS Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
not detected
Hazard index GenX, PFBS, PFNA, PFHxS combined
not detected
Also detected, no federal limit: PFPeA, PFBS, PFBA, PFHxA.
Pender County Utilities is a public water system drawing on surface water, based in Burgaw, North Carolina, serving about 32,302 people, including Wilmington, Burgaw, Currie, Hampstead, Holly Ridge, Maple Hill. Under EPA's Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule it was tested for 29 PFAS and lithium 10 times across 4 sampling points between Aug 2023 and May 2024.
Every PFAS detected
Not detected: 6:2 FTS, HFPO-DA, ADONA, 11Cl-PF3OUdS, 4:2 FTS, 9Cl-PF3ONS, NEtFOSAA, PFPeS, NFDHA, PFEESA, PFMBA, PFMPA, NMeFOSAA, PFTrDA, PFTA, PFHxS, 8:2 FTS, PFDA, PFDoA, PFHpS, PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHpA, PFUnA.
Lithium, tested in the same program: not detected.
What the EPA limits mean here
In April 2024 EPA set enforceable limits of 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt each for PFHxS, PFNA and GenX, and a hazard index of 1 for mixtures. Utilities were given until 2029 to comply. In May 2026 EPA proposed keeping only the PFOA and PFOS limits and moving that deadline to 2031. Until that proposal is final, the 2024 limits stand.
Compliance is judged on a running annual average at each entry point, so we show the average at this system's worst sampling point next to its single highest result. UCMR 5 results do not by themselves put a utility in or out of compliance.
What you can do at home
Levels here are under EPA's limits, so no treatment is required. If you want them lower anyway, a certified reverse osmosis system under the sink handles drinking water, and a whole-house carbon filter also takes out the chlorine or chloramine your utility adds.
Other systems in North Carolina
All 291 tested systems in North Carolina
ZIP codes served
28401 28411 28425 28435 28443 28445 28454 28457 28478
As reported by the utility to EPA. Neighbouring ZIPs are often split between systems; your water bill names yours.
Cite this page
Well & Tap. "PFAS in Pender County Utilities water: EPA UCMR 5 results." Data: U.S. EPA Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, final release August 2026, PWSID NC7071011. https://wellandtap.com/pfas/north-carolina/pender-county-utilities/
About this data
Source: U.S. EPA, UCMR 5 occurrence data, final release August 2026 (PWSID NC7071011). Population: EPA SDWIS. Averages count results below the reporting level as zero, the same convention EPA uses for running annual averages. Full method.
