Central Plains Water District, ND
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.02 ppb (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. 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.
About Central Plains Water District
Central Plains Water District serves about 3,504 people through 1,200 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Wells County, North Dakota. EPA system ID: ND5201309. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Every lead result on file
That is up 1.02 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Central Plains Water District is 2.3 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.02 ppb |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 2.3 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.46 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.65 ppb |
| 2017 | 1.5 ppb |
Against other North Dakota systems
Of the 300 North Dakota systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.91 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 20 have gone over at some point. Central Plains Water District's 1.02 ppb sits at the 52nd percentile in North Dakota and the 56th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Wells County
5 other systems share Wells County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Central Plains Water District. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Harvey City Of | 1,783 | 6.81 ppb |
| Fessenden City Of | 479 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bowdon City Of | 131 | 1.23 ppb |
| Sykeston City Of | 117 | 0.83 ppb |
| Cathay City Of | 43 | 11.5 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Fessenden, ND 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 Central Plains Water District whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1357 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.