Forsyth County, North Carolina has about 398,143 residents (Census 2024 estimate) and 15 community water systems in EPA records. The largest local system is Winston-Salem, City of, serving about 391,900 people from surface water.
Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.
Winston-Salem, City of Measured (utility report, 2025) · High confidence
1.0 gpg (18 mg/L), soft · range 9–28 mg/L
Source: WINSTON-SALEM, CITY OF water quality report, 2025
Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.
For a 3-person home using 57 gallons per person per day and regenerating weekly, you'd remove about 1,197 grains between regenerations. Suggested size: No softener needed (water is soft, 1 gpg or less).
Estimate only. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.
The 6 biggest of 15 community water systems on EPA records for this county. Service areas don't follow county lines; your water bill names your provider.
NC0234010 · serves about 391,900 people · Surface water
Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).
NC0234191 · serves about 1,506 people · Groundwater
Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).
NC0234183 · serves about 455 people · Groundwater
Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).
NC0234179 · serves about 442 people · Groundwater
Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2026-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).
NC0234165 · serves about 272 people · Surface water
Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).
NC0234124 · serves about 198 people · Groundwater
Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).
Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.
A PFAS detection is not a violation. Federal limits (4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS) apply to running annual averages, with compliance required by 2029. In May 2026 EPA proposed extending the PFOA/PFOS deadline to 2031 and removing other PFAS limits; not final as of 2026-10-21.
These are public records for whole systems. Your home's pipes, fixtures and any private well can change what you drink. A certified lab test or a hardness test strip gives you your own numbers. Then use our PFAS and lead filter selector to see which certifications to look for.
None of the 6 largest systems here have a health-based violation in EPA records since October 2021. Winston-Salem, City of's most recent lead 90th percentile was below the lab detection limit (2023), below the 15 ppb action level. Public records can't guarantee what comes out of your tap, especially with older plumbing, so a home test is the surest check.
Winston-Salem, City of reports about 1.0 grains per gallon (18 mg/L), which is soft. For a 3-person home at 1 gpg, our softener calculator suggests a No softener needed (water is soft, 1 gpg or less) unit as a starting point.
None of the 1 sampled system listed here detected PFAS above EPA's reporting levels in UCMR 5 testing.
Most homes are served by Winston-Salem, City of or one of the other systems listed on this page, but service areas don't follow county lines. Your water bill names your provider, and its annual Consumer Confidence Report has the full test results.
Data as of October 21, 2026. Figures are copied from public records and combined with our own calculations; they can be out of date or wrong. Tapped Out isn't affiliated with any utility or the EPA. Written and reviewed by the Tapped Out team. How we calculate · All sources.