Bard College, NY
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.5 ppb (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. 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.
Bard College at a glance
Bard College serves about 1,400 people through 83 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Dutchess County, New York. EPA system ID: NY1313839; phone on file: 845-758-7465. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Bard College's lead record
Against the period ending 2023 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bard College is 0.5 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.5 ppb |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0.4 ppb |
How Bard College compares
Of the 2,077 New York systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 17 are over 15 ppb right now and 165 have gone over at some point. Bard College's 0.5 ppb sits at the 21st percentile in New York and the 43rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
147 other systems share Dutchess County; 113 of them have a higher latest lead result than Bard College. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Poughkeepsie Townwide Wd | 43,000 | 2.1 ppb |
| Poughkeepsie City | 30,639 | 2.1 ppb |
| Beacon City | 14,370 | 1.78 ppb |
| United Wappinger Water Improvement Dist. | 14,000 | 5 ppb |
| Hyde Park Regional | 6,928 | 0.8 ppb |
| Rhinebeck Village Water | 6,000 | 2.1 ppb |
| Wappingers Falls Village | 5,522 | 2.14 ppb |
| Fishkill Village | 4,101 | 2.1 ppb |
| Brinkerhoff Water District | 3,788 | 7.6 ppb |
| Rombout Water District | 3,000 | 0.9 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Annandale On Hudson, NY 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 Bard College 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.