Home hazard report for 28604 — Banner Elk, NC
ZIP 28604 is served by Town of Beech Mountain: 4 violations since 2016, latest lead result 0 ppb, PFAS not tested. Watauga County is in EPA radon zone 1.
Health-based violations since 2016: Total Haloacetic Acids (Haa5). All are listed as resolved.
90th-percentile lead in the latest round (Jul 2024). Lead comes mostly from household plumbing and service lines, so individual homes can be higher.
This system was not part of EPA’s 2023–2025 nationwide PFAS testing (UCMR 5 covers systems serving over 3,300 people and a sample of smaller ones).
Predicted average indoor radon above 4 pCi/L — EPA’s action level. Test your home.
FEMA’s overall natural-hazard risk for this census tract, relative to the rest of the U.S.
No active Superfund site within 10 miles of the ZIP center.
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Where ZIP 28604 is
Dashed: ZIP area · blue: utility service area · scroll or pinch to zoomDrinking water: Town of Beech Mountain
Health-based violations
| Contaminant or rule | Health-based violations since 2016 |
|---|---|
| Total Haloacetic Acids (Haa5) | 4 |
A health-based violation means a contaminant exceeded its legal limit (MCL) or a required treatment technique was not met, as reported by the state to EPA’s SDWIS. All are listed as resolved or archived; the latest began Jan 2017.
Full record for Town of Beech Mountain →
Other systems overlapping this ZIP: Town of Banner Elk, Lees-Mcrae -South Campus.
Lead
90th-percentile lead per sampling round (90% of the homes sampled were at or below this level). Black line: EPA’s 15 ppb action level; under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements the action level becomes 10 ppb from 2027.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
This system was not part of EPA’s 2023–2025 nationwide PFAS testing (UCMR 5).
Radon in Watauga County
EPA radon zone 1 — highest potential. Predicted average indoor radon above 4 pCi/L — EPA’s action level. Test your home.
Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas from soil and rock, and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. EPA recommends fixing a home at 4 pCi/L or above and considering it from 2 pCi/L. A short-term test kit costs about $15–30. How radon zones work →
Natural hazard risk
FEMA rates the overall natural-hazard risk of this neighborhood (census tract) as Relatively High, with relatively high social vulnerability and relatively moderate community resilience.
FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025): expected annual losses from each hazard combined with social vulnerability and community resilience, rated relative to all U.S. census tracts. Hazards not listed are not applicable here. It describes the area, not a single building; flood insurance maps (FEMA FIRMs) decide flood-insurance requirements.
Live conditions: river gauges and flood levels · tornado warnings · wildfire detections · earthquakes — our sister maps, updated from NOAA, USGS and NASA every few minutes.
Superfund sites nearby
No site on EPA’s Superfund National Priorities List lies within 10 miles of the center of this ZIP code.
EPA Superfund National Priorities List (NPL): the country’s most serious known hazardous-waste sites, each with an EPA cleanup record (linked). Distance is measured from the ZIP center to the site’s reference point; being near a site does not by itself mean exposure — EPA site pages describe what was found and how it is being cleaned up.
What this is — and isn’t. These are records your water utility and state reported to the EPA, and the EPA’s radon map for your county. They describe the system and the area, not the water from your own tap or the air in your home. For that, read your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report and test: lead and radon tests are inexpensive.
Questions about 28604
Who supplies drinking water to ZIP 28604?
Town of Beech Mountain (EPA ID NC0195104), a surface water (rivers, lakes) system serving about 2,468 people.
Is there lead in Banner Elk, NC tap water?
The utility’s latest 90th-percentile lead result (Jul 2024) was 0 ppb; EPA’s action level is 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb from 2027. Lead mostly comes from service lines and home plumbing, so the only way to know your tap is to test it.
Does Banner Elk, NC water have PFAS?
This system was not part of EPA’s 2023–2025 nationwide PFAS testing (UCMR 5 covers systems serving over 3,300 people and a sample of smaller ones).
Has the water system in 28604 had violations?
Health-based violations since 2016: Total Haloacetic Acids (Haa5). All are listed as resolved.
What natural hazards affect ZIP 28604?
FEMA’s National Risk Index rates the overall natural-hazard risk here as Relatively High; the highest-rated hazards are riverine flooding (very high), cold wave (relatively high), ice storm (relatively high).
Are there Superfund sites near 28604?
No active Superfund site within 10 miles of the ZIP center.
Is radon a problem in Watauga County?
Watauga County is in EPA radon zone 1 (highest potential). Predicted average indoor radon above 4 pCi/L — EPA’s action level. Test your home.