Chama Water System, NM
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 9.1 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). 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.
Who runs the water here
Chama Water System serves about 1,573 people through 550 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 Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. EPA system ID: NM3501021; phone on file: 505-470-8926. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
That is up 9.1 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Chama Water System is 9.1 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 9.1 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 1.3 ppb |
| 2017 | 4.6 ppb |
How Chama Water System compares
Of the 504 New Mexico systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 14 are over 15 ppb right now and 46 have gone over at some point. Chama Water System's 9.1 ppb sits at the 94th percentile in New Mexico and the 97th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
40 other systems share Rio Arriba County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Chama Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Espanola Water System | 12,012 | 0 (not detected) |
| Agua Sana Wua | 1,514 | 0 (not detected) |
| El Rito Regional Water & Waste Water Asn | 1,200 | 4.1 ppb |
| Greater Chimayo Mdwca | 1,050 | 2.3 ppb |
| Alcalde Mdwca | 927 | 0.56 ppb |
| Chamita Mdwca | 902 | 0 (not detected) |
| Truchas Mdwca | 629 | 3.1 ppb |
| Velarde Mdwca | 543 | 4.1 ppb |
| Dixon Mdwca | 500 | 1.5 ppb |
| Canjilon Water System | 469 | 11 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Chama, NM 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 Chama Water System 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.