Birch River Psd, WV
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.58 ppb (monitoring period 2020-2020). 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.
Birch River Psd at a glance
Birch River Psd serves about 1,369 people through 554 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 Nicholas County, West Virginia. EPA system ID: WV3303413; phone on file: 304-649-0000. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Birch River Psd's lead record
Against the period ending 2019 (1.2 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Birch River Psd is 1.3 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 0.58 ppb |
| 2019 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.3 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 408 West Virginia systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.9 ppb; 4 are over 15 ppb right now and 20 have gone over at some point. Birch River Psd's 0.58 ppb sits at the 37th percentile in West Virginia and the 44th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Nicholas County
6 other systems share Nicholas County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Birch River Psd. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Wilderness Psd | 6,106 | 0.65 ppb |
| Summersville Municipal Water | 5,574 | 0.49 ppb |
| Craigsville Psd | 4,997 | 2.7 ppb |
| Nettie Leivasy Psd | 3,630 | 2.9 ppb |
| Richwood Water Dept | 2,480 | 18.5 ppb |
| Fenwick Mountain Psd | 554 | 0.51 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Dille, WV 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 Birch River Psd 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.