Rowan, NC

Moderate Risk (58/100)

A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology.

Environmental data for Rowan in North Carolina · Population: 148,487

Rowan, NC is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 26 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 23 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 58/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 1.9M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 7 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 44 and a peak AQI of 97 in 2024, with 69% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

Population
148,487
TRI Facilities
26
Water Systems
23
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
1.9M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 252 (69%) 112 0 97
2023 210 (58%) 150 3 122
2022 230 (63%) 134 0 87
2021 244 (67%) 120 0 87
2020 253 (69%) 112 0 90
2024 Good Air Quality: 69% of days
Median AQI: 44

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in North Carolina, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (23)

System Population Violations
SALISBURY-ROWAN 45,329 4
LANDIS, TOWN OF 5,510 0
CHINA GROVE, TOWN OF 4,895 3
EAST SPENCER, TOWN OF 1,550 0
FAITH, TOWN OF 1,316 3
CLEVELAND, TOWN OF 872 0
COMMODORE PENINSULA WTR SYSTEM 610 0
NORTHEAST ROWAN COUNTY WATER SYSTEM 471 2
EDGEWOOD S/D 259 0
TANGLEWOOD S/D 231 0
COX MILL 198 0
CEDAR GLENN MHP INC 198 1
POPLAR TRAILS WATER SYSTEM 180 0
FAIRFIELD ACRES 158 0
PRIVATE ACRES S/D 124 0
OAKLAND S/D 119 0
HAPPY HOLLOW S/D 112 0
MOUNTAIN CREEK SHORES S/D 102 0
HICKORY LANE MHP 83 1
GREEN ACRES MHP 71 4
DOGWOOD ESTATES 64 0
BARGER PARK 58 0
SAFRIT ANNEX WATER SYSTEM 51 0

TRI Facilities (26)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Chroma Color Corp 437.7K lbs
2 Southern Co Rowan County Power Plant 375.0K lbs
3 Henkel US Operations Corp 269.0K lbs
4 Teijin Automotive Technologies North Carolina Composites Ll 265.5K lbs
5 Westlake Royal Building Products Inc - Plant 2 206.1K lbs
6 Daimler Trucks Na Llc-Cleveland 146.1K lbs
7 Nouryon Surface Chemistry LLC 108.8K lbs
8 General Shale Brick Inc. - Plant 51 41.7K lbs
9 Inland Coatings 14.9K lbs
10 Innospec Active Chemicals 9.5K lbs
11 Westlake Royal Building Products Inc - Plant 1 4.2K lbs
12 Granges Americas Inc 647 lbs
13 Hexagon-Agility Fuel Systems 66 lbs
14 Centurion Medical Products 58 lbs
15 Schneider Electric Salisbury Nc 57 lbs
16 Walk-On Products Inc 19 lbs
17 Concrete Supply Co. LLC - Kannapolis 2 lbs
18 Sws Concrete-Salisbury Plant 0 lbs
19 Concrete Supply Co - Salisbury 0 lbs
20 Dupont Salisbury Nc Site 0 lbs
21 Cargill Feed & Nutrition Barber 0 lbs
22 Mueller Systems 0 lbs
23 Schult Rockwell 0 lbs
24 McKenzie Sports Products LLC 0 lbs
25 Hbd Industries Inc 0 lbs
26 Ufp Salisbury LLC 0 lbs

Cities in Rowan (5)

Cleveland
Pop: -
3 facilities · 2 water
East Spencer
Pop: -
2 facilities · 0 water
Rockwell
Pop: -
1 facilities · 0 water
Salisbury
Pop: -
19 facilities · 7 water
Kannapolis
Pop: -
1 facilities · 2 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Rowan, North Carolina?
Rowan, NC has an environmental risk score of 58/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 26 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 23 water systems on record. 7 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Rowan?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Rowan, NC in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Rowan?
Rowan, NC has 26 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 1.9M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Rowan?
In 2024, Rowan, NC recorded a median AQI of 44 and a peak AQI of 97. 69% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Rowan?
Rowan, NC has 23 EPA-regulated water systems. 7 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Rowan?
Environmental compliance in Rowan, North Carolina is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the North Carolina state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial