The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deployed a second mobile laboratory to Watauga County, North Carolina, to support the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and local health departments in drinking water testing efforts.
Placing a second mobile laboratory in Watauga County will expand water testing capacity in rural communities in more remote parts of North Carolina that were impacted by Hurricane Helene.
The mobile laboratory in Asheville, North Carolina, has tested more than 500 drinking water samples to support NCDEQ, NCDHHS and Buncombe County, as of October 22, 2024. The EPA remains committed to augmenting county health department and state resources to ensure communities impacted by the storm have access to the needed analyses.
EPA’s mobile laboratories can only accept water samples directly from water utilities, NCDEQ and local health departments.
Private well owners whose wells were completely flooded or otherwise damaged by the storm are urged to contact their local health department to request testing.
