Bay Center, WA
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2023-2025). 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.
About Bay Center
Bay Center serves about 579 people through 229 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 Pacific County, Washington. EPA system ID: WA5304815. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Bay Center's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bay Center is 1.5 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 1 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.5 ppb |
How Bay Center compares
Of the 2,218 Washington systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 18 are over 15 ppb right now and 62 have gone over at some point. Bay Center's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 28th percentile in Washington and the 23rd nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Neighbouring systems
16 other systems share Pacific County; 11 of them have a higher latest lead result than Bay Center. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| North Beach Water | 8,093 | 20 ppb |
| Long Beach Water Department | 4,628 | 3.8 ppb |
| Raymond Water Department | 4,620 | 1.1 ppb |
| South Bend Water Department | 2,930 | 23 ppb |
| Ilwaco Water Department City Of | 2,757 | 2 ppb |
| Surfside Homeowners | 2,687 | 4 ppb |
| Willapa Valley Water District | 2,425 | 0 (not detected) |
| Naselle | 2,073 | 1 ppb |
| Chinook Water District | 664 | 9 ppb |
| Lebam | 174 | 8 ppb |
Your move
Look up your address in Bay Center'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 Bay Center 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. A zero today does not rule out a jump later - the rules are tightening in 2027.