Athens Waterworks, WI
Above the new 10 ppb level coming in 2027
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 12 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2023). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Under the current 15 ppb rule this is not an exceedance, but it is above the 10 ppb action level that takes over in Nov 2027. Test your own tap; filter if your result shows lead.
About Athens Waterworks
Athens Waterworks serves about 1,025 people through 436 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 Marathon County, Wisconsin. EPA system ID: WI7370149. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Athens Waterworks's lead record
That is up 5 ppb from 7 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Athens Waterworks is 12 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 12 ppb over 10 |
| 2020 | 7 ppb |
| 2017 | 10 ppb |
Against other Wisconsin systems
Of the 947 Wisconsin systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.33 ppb; 6 are over 15 ppb right now and 71 have gone over at some point. Athens Waterworks's 12 ppb sits at the 98th percentile in Wisconsin and the 98th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
22 other systems share Marathon County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Athens Waterworks. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Wausau Waterworks | 39,994 | 5.8 ppb |
| Weston Municipal Utilities | 16,000 | 0.75 ppb |
| Kronenwetter Water & Sewer Utility | 6,931 | 0.76 ppb |
| Rib Mountain Water Utility | 6,398 | 2.4 ppb |
| Mosinee Waterworks | 3,406 | 2.2 ppb |
| Rothschild Waterworks | 3,190 | 7.3 ppb |
| Abbotsford Waterworks | 2,502 | 3.5 ppb |
| Schofield Waterworks | 2,205 | 0 (not detected) |
| Spencer Waterworks | 1,848 | 0.8 ppb |
| Colby Waterworks | 1,829 | 0.95 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Athens, WI 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 Waterworks 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. See what changes at 10 ppb in 2027.