Athens Town Of, WV
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4.33 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.
Athens Town Of at a glance
Athens Town Of serves about 5,633 people through 1,757 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Mercer County, West Virginia. EPA system ID: WV3302801; phone on file: 304-384-3525. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
That is up 1.99 ppb from 2.34 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Athens Town Of is 4.33 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4.33 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.34 ppb |
| 2018 | 3.72 ppb |
| 2016 | 0.51 ppb |
Against other West Virginia systems
Of the 408 West Virginia systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.9 ppb; 4 are over 15 ppb right now and 20 have gone over at some point. Athens Town Of's 4.33 ppb sits at the 91st percentile in West Virginia and the 89th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Mercer County
7 other systems share Mercer County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Athens Town Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Wvawc Bluefield District | 12,174 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bluewell Psd | 6,216 | 2.6 ppb |
| Green Valley Glenwood Psd Glenwood | 4,914 | 4.62 ppb |
| Green Valley Glenwood Psd Bulltail | 2,130 | 7.24 ppb |
| Raleigh County Psd Egeria | 200 | 2.15 ppb |
| Pinnacle Water Association | 85 | 1 ppb |
| Hiawatha Water | 63 | - |
Next steps for Athens, WV
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Athens, WV 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 Athens Town Of 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.