City of KM reassures water safe to drink
- Chuck Thompson
- Jul 15, 2025
- 3 min read
KINGS MOUNTAIN – Time is like a river, it only flows in one direction, but for the residents and businesses across Kings Mountain, that river seems to be taking forever – and it smells. Bad.
As early as January of this year, several news outlets first reported on the problem that seemed to have drawn complaints as early as fall 2024.
On Tuesday, July 15, The City of Kings Mountain addressed their water problems by releasing a statement to their residents and media, blaming the core of the problem on a higher concentration of organic matter and reassuring the public that city water is safe to drink.
“The City of Kings Mountain is actively addressing elevated levels of organic matter in the municipal water supply, which originates from Moss Lake,” the statement read. “These higher levels of organics-contributing to an earthy taste and odor in some areas of the City-are the result of various environmental conditions, including changes in rainfall, heat, stormwater runoff, and past dredging activities. It is important to note that these changes are not related to a lake turnover event.”
The statement by the city went on to note the city had implemented several key measures to “improve water quality and mitigate the impact of these naturally occurring compounds.”
The measures being implemented are:
• Kings Mountain claims to have introduced additional carbon treatment to effectively reduce organic content.
• A fourth treatment basin was activated and the flow rate reduced to allow more time for the carbon to react with the water.
• All dredging operations at Moss Lake have been halted to prevent additional organic disruption.
• Targeted flushing is underway to remove affected water and replace it with freshly treated water from the plant, according to the city.
The statement continues by reassuring the public the water is safe.
“Despite the taste and odor issues, our water remains safe to drink and continues to meet all primary state and federal water quality standards.”
However, several residents and business owners remain apprehensive to using the water for almost anything.
One local resident, who wished to remain anonymous said he and his family uses bottle water for everything except bathing.
“I’m buying bottled water just to brush my teeth,” he said. “It’s bad. It smells horrible and something just isn’t right. I don’t want my family to consume it in any way, so between brushing our teeth and cooking, we’ve been using bottle water for a while and it’s getting expensive.”
But, not all things are dire. At the Domino’s in Kings Mountain on W King St, employees want to reassure customers that local water is not used in food preparation and they only sell bottled water.
“We don’t cook with it,” said John Phillips “We used to mix water when we made our sauce, but we don’t even do that anymore.”
Shift manager Shawna Boone reassured there’s no problem at the restaurant, “People are welcome to come on in and don’t have to worry about the water problem.”
According to the statement by the city, the water problem is being corrected, as it mentioned improvements are currently underway.
"The City is also pursuing long-term improvements," it reads. "Plans are in place to install baffle walls and aeration systems within the water treatment facility to enhance ongoing treatment capabilities. These upgrades are currently pending final approval from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)."
The statement, according to Communications Specialist for the City of Kings Mountain, Gabe Thomas, assured The Shelby Independent everything in the statement was in line with City Manager Todd Carpenter’s own comments on the matter, and he would not be speaking with media Tuesday.
The Shelby Independent tried, nonetheless, to talk with the Kings Mountain City Manager, but he could not be reached, and was in a meeting while The Independent waited for a chance to speak with the city manager in person Tuesday afternoon.
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Tuesday's statement closed by noting the continued efforts of the city to correct the foul problem as quickly as possible.
“We recognize the inconvenience this has caused for affected residents and appreciate the public's patience as we work toward both immediate and lasting solutions.”
The city also said they would continue to provide additional information as it becomes available.
This is an ongoing news story. Check The Shelby Independent for periodical updates.
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