Alcalde Mdwca, NM
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.56 ppb (monitoring period 2022-2024). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
About Alcalde Mdwca
Alcalde Mdwca serves about 927 people through 309 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. EPA system ID: NM3535021; phone on file: 505-929-1196. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2021 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Alcalde Mdwca is 1.4 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.56 ppb |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 1.4 ppb |
How Alcalde Mdwca compares
Of the 504 New Mexico systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 14 are over 15 ppb right now and 46 have gone over at some point. Alcalde Mdwca's 0.56 ppb sits at the 28th percentile in New Mexico and the 44th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
40 other systems share Rio Arriba County; 24 of them have a higher latest lead result than Alcalde Mdwca. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Espanola Water System | 12,012 | 0 (not detected) |
| Chama Water System | 1,573 | 9.1 ppb |
| Agua Sana Wua | 1,514 | 0 (not detected) |
| El Rito Regional Water & Waste Water Asn | 1,200 | 4.1 ppb |
| Greater Chimayo Mdwca | 1,050 | 2.3 ppb |
| Chamita Mdwca | 902 | 0 (not detected) |
| Truchas Mdwca | 629 | 3.1 ppb |
| Velarde Mdwca | 543 | 4.1 ppb |
| Dixon Mdwca | 500 | 1.5 ppb |
| Canjilon Water System | 469 | 11 ppb |
Next steps for Alcalde, NM
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Alcalde, NM may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Alcalde Mdwca whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.