Bents Fort Wc, CO
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.6 ppb (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. 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.
Who runs the water here
Bents Fort Wc serves about 900 people through 360 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Otero County, Colorado. EPA system ID: CO0145060. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2021 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bents Fort Wc is 0.9 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.6 ppb |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 0.9 ppb |
| 2017 | 0.8 ppb |
| 2016 | 0.6 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,025 Colorado systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 71 have gone over at some point. Bents Fort Wc's 0.6 ppb sits at the 43rd percentile in Colorado and the 45th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
22 other systems share Otero County; 9 of them have a higher latest lead result than Bents Fort Wc. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| La Junta City Of | 8,320 | 1 ppb |
| Rocky Ford City Of | 4,443 | 0 (not detected) |
| Fowler Town Of | 1,169 | 0 (not detected) |
| Swink Town Of | 660 | 2 ppb |
| South Swink Water Authority | 622 | 3 ppb |
| Eureka Wc | 498 | 0 (not detected) |
| Manzanola Town Of | 497 | 0 (not detected) |
| Newdale Grand Valley Wc | 458 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hilltop Wc | 285 | 1.5 ppb |
| Valley Wc | 270 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; La Junta, CO 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 Bents Fort Wc 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.