Is Raleigh water safe? What is actually in it? Straight answers from the city's own 2025 water quality report, and what they mean for your home.
Updated
Quick answer
Every result in the City of Raleigh's 2025 water quality report is within its federal limit. Disinfection byproducts and trace PFAS are present below legal limits; PFOA averaged 2.69 ppt and PFOS 2.60 ppt at the E.M. Johnson plant. Raleigh disinfects with chloramine. Many families filter drinking water anyway, most effectively with reverse osmosis.
The city treats water at two plants and serves Raleigh, Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon. These are 2025 plant averages from the city's report.
| Measure | E.M. Johnson | D.E. Benton | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | 31.0 ppb | 6.0 ppb | 60 ppb |
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | 19.4 ppb | 12.8 ppb | 80 ppb |
| PFOA | 2.69 ppt | 2.45 ppt | 4.0 ppt (EPA) |
| PFOS | 2.60 ppt | 1.80 ppt | 4.0 ppt (EPA) |
| Fluoride | 0.71 mg/L | 0.14 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| pH | 8.40 | 8.41 | 6.5 to 8.5 |
| Iron, manganese | Not detected | Not detected | 0.3 / 0.05 mg/L |
Source: City of Raleigh 2025 Drinking Water Quality Report. Your tap can differ from plant averages, especially for anything picked up in older plumbing.
Raleigh disinfects with chloramine: chlorine with ammonia added, which stays active longer in the pipes. For about six weeks each spring, roughly late February through early April, the city switches to straight chlorine to clean the system, and many homes notice a stronger pool smell then.
Chloramine is harder to remove than chlorine. Pitchers and fridge filters do little; a whole-home catalytic carbon filter is built to break it down at every tap. More in our chloramine guide.
HAA5 averaged 31.0 ppb at E.M. Johnson against a 60 ppb limit; TTHM averaged 19.4 ppb against 80. They form when disinfectant reacts with organic matter in lake water.
PFOA and PFOS averaged under 3 ppt at both plants, below EPA's 4.0 ppt limit for each. Several other PFAS compounds were also detected at low levels.
The E.M. Johnson plant adds fluoride, averaging 0.71 mg/L. Reverse osmosis removes it if you prefer water without it.
Lead comes from older pipes and fixtures, not the plant. Homes built before 1986 are worth a lab test; the city offers free lead test kits to its customers.
For city water: whole-home catalytic carbon for chloramine and its byproducts at every tap, plus reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink for drinking water, which also removes PFAS and lead. Homes on wells usually need an iron & sulfur filter or a softener instead, depending on the test.
Every result in the city's 2025 report is within its federal limit. Disinfection byproducts and trace PFAS are present below their legal limits; many households filter drinking water anyway, most effectively with reverse osmosis.
It depends on your home. Hardness varies with your plumbing, your water heater and whether you are on a private well. Our free in-home test measures it on the spot; if you are seeing scale, spots or dry skin, a softener or salt-free conditioner fixes it, usually paired with whole-home carbon for chloramine.
Yes. Raleigh adds ammonia to chlorine to form chloramine, and switches to straight chlorine for about six weeks each spring to clean the system.
Yes, at low levels. PFOA averaged 2.69 ppt and PFOS 2.60 ppt at the E.M. Johnson plant in 2025, below EPA's 4.0 ppt limit for each.
The city publishes it each year on its Raleigh Water reports page. We link the 2025 report above.
Plant averages are a start. A free in-home test shows your own numbers.