Amesbury Dpw Water Div., MA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.2 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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 Amesbury Dpw Water Div.
Amesbury Dpw Water Div. serves about 17,366 people through 6,083 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Essex County, Massachusetts. EPA system ID: MA3007000; phone on file: 9783880853. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
That is up 1.2 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Amesbury Dpw Water Div. is 1.2 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Against other Massachusetts systems
Of the 535 Massachusetts systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.7 ppb; 13 are over 15 ppb right now and 66 have gone over at some point. Amesbury Dpw Water Div.'s 1.2 ppb sits at the 38th percentile in Massachusetts and the 59th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Essex County
36 other systems share Essex County; 19 of them have a higher latest lead result than Amesbury Dpw Water Div.. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Lynn Water And Sewer Comm | 101,253 | 2.4 ppb |
| Salem And Beverly Water Supply Board | 90,330 | 1.7 ppb |
| Lawrence Water Works | 89,143 | 0 (not detected) |
| Haverhill Water Dept | 61,277 | 0 (not detected) |
| Peabody Water Dept. | 54,481 | 4.18 ppb |
| Methuen Water Dept | 53,059 | 1.6 ppb |
| Beverly Water Dept | 47,461 | - |
| Salem Water Department | 44,480 | - |
| Gloucester Public Utility Division | 37,440 | 3 ppb |
| Andover Water Dept | 36,569 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Amesbury, MA 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 Amesbury Dpw Water Div. 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.