In Knightdale's Ashley Hills North neighborhood, the mail brought a familiar jolt this week: yet another notice from the water company warning about elevated uranium in the tap. It is the second such alert since February, and the latest letter again mixes long-term averages with fresher test results, leaving some families stocking up on bottled water and phoning pediatricians. The utility says its recent samples are in a safe range, but residents say the confusing numbers and limited updates are not exactly reassuring.
As reported by WRAL, Carolina Water Service's latest customer letter lists a running annual average for gross alpha of 33.1 picocuries per liter and notes that the most recent test measured 6.7 pCi/L. The same letter cites a "maximum containment level" of 20.1 pCi/L, explaining that the annual average "incorporates prior results" and is expected to come down as newer, lower readings that follow recent repairs are folded into the calculation.
How compliance is calculated
Federal drinking water rules base radionuclide compliance on a running annual average drawn from quarterly sampling. That setup means that once a system exceeds the limit, it has to keep testing every quarter until there are four straight quarters at or below the federal threshold, according to EPA and federal regulations. In practice, that is why a spike from months ago can linger in the official average even after follow-up tests come in much lower.
Neighbors point to an earlier exceedance
An earlier investigation by WRAL in February found that a January sample had been flagged at about 250 pCi/L - roughly 12 times higher than the threshold referenced by the utility. That result pushed many Ashley Hills North residents to cut off tap water for cooking and infant formula altogether. "I'm worried about what my baby drank," resident Taylor Hines told WRAL, adding that she has been buying bottled water since February.
What the utility says it has done
In its notices, Carolina Water Service says it has taken Well 3 offline, adjusted well controls, and started using a filtration media resin designed to capture uranium, while two other wells currently supply the neighborhood. The company's North Carolina system improvements page also lists a 2024 Amber Acres North well upgrade that is intended to treat elevated uranium and radium levels in that system, according to Carolina Water Service.
The utility says it will keep sending quarterly reports to customers until the contamination falls within regulatory thresholds. In the meantime, residents say they want more frequent, clearer communication and independent testing. Public-health officials generally advise people who are worried about potential exposure to talk with their doctors and to check with the utility or local health department about available water-testing options.
