Bradford City Water Authority, PA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.29 ppb (monitoring period 2025-2025). 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.
Bradford City Water Authority at a glance
Bradford City Water Authority serves about 18,500 people through 5,788 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Mckean County, Pennsylvania. EPA system ID: PA6420014; phone on file: 814-362-3004. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2022 (1.53 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bradford City Water Authority is 2.83 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.29 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.53 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.83 ppb |
| 2016 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 516 Pennsylvania systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 2 ppb; 143 are over 15 ppb right now and 156 have gone over at some point. Bradford City Water Authority's 1.29 ppb sits at the 38th percentile in Pennsylvania and the 60th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
16 other systems share Mckean County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Bradford City Water Authority. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Pa American Water Co Kane | 5,725 | 0 (not detected) |
| Port Allegany Water Department | 2,591 | - |
| Smethport Borough | 2,400 | - |
| Aqua Pa Mt Jewett | 972 | - |
| Lewis Run Borough | 892 | - |
| Aiken Water Company | 850 | 15.2 ppb |
| Eldred Borough Water Auth | 850 | - |
| Rew Water Association | 325 | - |
| Rixford Waterworks Association | 234 | - |
| Hazel Hurst Water Company | 140 | - |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Bradford, PA 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 Bradford City Water Authority 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.