Bethel-City S/D Water, AK
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2024-2024). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
Bethel-City S/D Water at a glance
Bethel-City S/D Water serves about 1,660 people through 250 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a Native American tribe and draws groundwater, in Bethel Census Area County, Alaska. EPA system ID: AK2271999; phone on file: 907-545-0111. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2023 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bethel-City S/D Water is 33.2 ppb across 9 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 2.95 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.92 ppb |
| 2020 | 4.26 ppb |
| 2019 | 5.8 ppb |
| 2018 | 33.2 ppb over 15 |
| 2017 | 6.02 ppb |
| 2016 | 5.65 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 394 Alaska systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.6 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 53 have gone over at some point. Bethel-City S/D Water's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 14th percentile in Alaska and the 30th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Neighbouring systems
34 other systems share Bethel Census Area County; 33 of them have a higher latest lead result than Bethel-City S/D Water. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Bethel Heights Water System | 2,228 | 3.57 ppb |
| Kwethluk New Piped Water System | 760 | 2 ppb |
| Quinhagak Water System | 724 | 0.75 ppb |
| Toksook Bay Water System | 661 | 5.6 ppb |
| Kipnuk Water System | 639 | 1 ppb |
| Akiachak Water System | 627 | 6.2 ppb |
| Kongiganak Water System | 547 | 4.5 ppb |
| Chefornak Water System | 513 | 1 ppb |
| Nunapitchuk Water System | 496 | 4.6 ppb |
| Bethel Trailer Court | 446 | 2.2 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Bethel, AK 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 Bethel-City S/D Water whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1920 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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. More in what a past exceedance means today.