Atkins Extension, VA
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2024-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
Atkins Extension at a glance
Atkins Extension serves about 597 people through 240 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 surface water, in Smyth County, Virginia. EPA system ID: VA1173023; phone on file: 276-783-3298. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2023 (0.7 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Atkins Extension is 1.07 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 0.7 ppb |
| 2023 | 0.9 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.07 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.07 ppb |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Against other Virginia systems
Of the 996 Virginia systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 59 have gone over at some point. Atkins Extension's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 31st percentile in Virginia and the 23rd nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Nearby utilities
13 other systems share Smyth County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Atkins Extension. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Marion, Town Of | 8,500 | 0 (not detected) |
| Chilhowie, Town Of | 4,625 | 8.4 ppb |
| Thomas Bridge Water Corp | 3,500 | 2.27 ppb |
| Saltville, Town Of | 2,204 | 0 (not detected) |
| Watsons Gap Water System | 1,892 | 0 (not detected) |
| Rye Valley Water Authority | 1,276 | 0 (not detected) |
| Walker Creek | 1,135 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hutton Branch | 833 | 0 (not detected) |
| Poor Valley | 163 | 4.24 ppb |
| South Fork | 150 | - |
Next steps for Marion, VA
Look up your address in Atkins Extension's service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Atkins Extension 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. Small systems behave differently: why small systems go over more often.