Cathlamet Water Dept, WA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 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.
Cathlamet Water Dept at a glance
Cathlamet Water Dept serves about 1,636 people through 739 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 Wahkiakum County, Washington. EPA system ID: WA5311850. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Cathlamet Water Dept's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Cathlamet Water Dept is 2 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 2 ppb |
| 2016 | 2 ppb |
Against other Washington systems
Of the 2,218 Washington systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 18 are over 15 ppb right now and 62 have gone over at some point. Cathlamet Water Dept's 2 ppb sits at the 69th percentile in Washington and the 72nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Wahkiakum County
3 other systems share Wahkiakum County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Cathlamet Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Puget Island | 920 | 1.7 ppb |
| Western Wahkiakum | 791 | 1.2 ppb |
| Skamokawa Water System | 267 | 4.2 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cathlamet, WA 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 Cathlamet Water Dept 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.