Caribou Utilities District, ME
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2022-2024). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest 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 Caribou Utilities District
Caribou Utilities District serves about 3,943 people through 1,577 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Aroostook County, Maine. EPA system ID: ME0090320; phone on file: 207-496-0911. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
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 Caribou Utilities District is 0.89 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 0.89 ppb |
| 2018 | 0.89 ppb |
| 2016 | 0.62 ppb |
Against other Maine systems
Of the 358 Maine systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 40 have gone over at some point. Caribou Utilities District's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 29th percentile in Maine and the 34th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Other water systems in Aroostook County
37 other systems share Aroostook County; 31 of them have a higher latest lead result than Caribou Utilities District. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Presque Isle Utilities District | 6,128 | 1.5 ppb |
| Houlton Water Company | 4,735 | 3.4 ppb |
| Madawaska Water District | 2,738 | 0 (not detected) |
| Van Buren Water District | 2,190 | 2.7 ppb |
| Fort Fairfield Utilities District | 2,025 | 1.8 ppb |
| Fort Kent W & W Department | 1,578 | 1.9 ppb |
| Mars Hill And Blaine Water Company | 1,500 | 3.4 ppb |
| Limestone Water & Sewer District | 875 | 2.6 ppb |
| Ashland Water & Sewer District | 713 | 2.3 ppb |
| Washburn Water & Sewer District | 688 | 2 ppb |
Next steps for Caribou, ME
Look up your address in Caribou Utilities District'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 Caribou Utilities District 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. Small systems behave differently: why small systems go over more often.