Clay Water Works, KY
Above the new 10 ppb level coming in 2027
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 12 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Under the current 15 ppb rule this is not an exceedance, but it is above the 10 ppb action level that takes over in Nov 2027. Test your own tap; filter if your result shows lead.
About Clay Water Works
Clay Water Works serves about 1,287 people through 615 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 Webster County, Kentucky. EPA system ID: KY1170073; phone on file: 270-635-2595. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is up 12 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Clay Water Works is 12 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 12 ppb over 10 |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
How Clay Water Works compares
Of the 367 Kentucky systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 0 are over 15 ppb right now and 4 have gone over at some point. Clay Water Works's 12 ppb sits at the 100th percentile in Kentucky and the 98th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Webster County
5 other systems share Webster County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Clay Water Works. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Webster Co Water District | 5,940 | 0 (not detected) |
| Providence Water Works | 4,538 | 0 (not detected) |
| Sebree Water Department | 1,743 | 3 ppb |
| Dixon Water Department | 1,253 | 0 (not detected) |
| Slaughters Water Works | 659 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Clay, KY 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 Clay Water Works 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. This system is in the band the 2027 10 ppb rule changes.