The City of Greensboro’s annual drinking water quality report shows that the city’s drinking water met all state and federal standards in 2025 – although the report also includes testing results showing the presence of several PFAS compounds, often referred to as “forever chemicals.”
The City of Greensboro recently released its 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report, which summarizes water testing conducted throughout the year and provides information on the city’s drinking water sources and treatment process.
The most important part: According to the report, Greensboro’s drinking water met or exceeded all state and federal drinking water standards during the reporting period.
The report states that Greensboro performs more than 400,000 water quality tests annually and regularly monitors drinking water to comply with requirements established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
Greensboro’s primary water sources are Lakes Brandt, Higgins and Townsend in northern Guilford County. The city also purchases some water from Burlington, Reidsville, the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority and Winston-Salem.
One item that may be of interest to residents is the report’s section on unregulated contaminants. The report includes results from testing conducted in 2023 and 2024 for several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS.
PFAS are a large group of man-made chemicals that have been used in products ranging from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam. Because the chemicals break down very slowly, they’re often referred to as “forever chemicals.”
The report showed detectable levels of several PFAS compounds in Greensboro’s water supply, including PFOS, PFHxS, PFOA and PFHxA.
The highest PFOS level reported was 35.6 nanograms per liter, while PFHxS reached 16.8 nanograms per liter. The highest reported level for PFOA was 5.6 nanograms per liter.
Those numbers are likely to raise questions among residents because PFAS chemicals have become a major focus of drinking-water regulators in recent years. However, the report doesn’t indicate that Greensboro’s water is unsafe, and the city states that its drinking water met all state and federal standards.
The PFAS results included in the report came from testing conducted in 2023 and 2024 and were collected as part of a federal monitoring program designed to help regulators better understand how frequently these chemicals occur in drinking water supplies. While some PFAS compounds have been linked to health concerns after long-term exposure, the report doesn’t indicate that the levels detected created a violation of drinking-water standards.
The report notes that PFAS compounds included in the testing are considered unregulated contaminants for purposes of the monitoring program and that the testing is intended to help the EPA determine whether future regulations are warranted.
The report doesn’t indicate that Greensboro violated any drinking water standards related to PFAS during the reporting period.
The city reported very low lead levels in its most recent lead sampling. The 90th percentile lead level was reported as less than 3 parts per billion, which is well below the federal action level of 15 parts per billion.
No sampled homes exceeded the action level.
Copper levels were also well below federal action levels.
The report showed that disinfection byproducts remained below federal limits as well. Total trihalomethanes measured 49 parts per billion compared to the federal limit of 80 parts per billion, while haloacetic acids measured 42 parts per billion compared to a limit of 60 parts per billion.
The results suggest Greensboro remains within federal requirements for these compounds. Trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids are created when disinfectants used to kill harmful bacteria and viruses react with naturally occurring organic material in source water. Because they are byproducts of the treatment process itself, small amounts are commonly found in drinking water systems across the country.
Long-term exposure to elevated levels can pose health concerns, which is why the EPA regulates them, but Greensboro’s reported levels remained below federal limits in 2025.
The report doesn’t compare Greensboro’s PFAS levels to those found in bottled water. Studies conducted in recent years have found that PFAS can also be detected in some bottled waters, although levels vary widely by brand and source.
Greensboro received one notice of violation during the reporting period. According to the report, that violation involved the city’s failure to submit a required Lead and Copper Rule sampling certification form for 2024 by the deadline. The report states that compliance was achieved after the form was submitted in September 2025 and notes that no water-quality violation occurred.
The North Carolina Source Water Assessment Program rates both Lake Brandt and Lake Townsend as having a higher susceptibility to potential contamination sources. However, the report notes that a higher susceptibility rating doesn’t indicate poor water quality and instead reflects the potential for contamination sources to affect those watersheds.
A copy of the complete report is available to anyone interested on the city’s website.
