Clearwater Water System, FL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.5 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2021). 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
Clearwater Water System serves about 115,000 people through 35,470 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Pinellas County, Florida. EPA system ID: FL6520336; phone on file: 727-562-4960. 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 1.3 ppb from 1.2 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Clearwater Water System is 3 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2.5 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2017 | 0.7 ppb |
| 2016 | 3 ppb |
| 2016 | 3 ppb |
Against other Florida systems
Of the 1,481 Florida systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 85 have gone over at some point. Clearwater Water System's 2.5 ppb sits at the 79th percentile in Florida and the 78th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Pinellas County
11 other systems share Pinellas County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Clearwater Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Pinellas County Utilities | 506,353 | 0.8 ppb |
| St Petersburg, City Of | 349,979 | 1.8 ppb |
| Pinellas Park Water Dept | 48,939 | 0.5 ppb |
| Dunedin Water System | 46,161 | 1.5 ppb |
| Tarpon Springs Water System | 28,875 | 1.6 ppb |
| Safety Harbor Water Dept | 16,473 | 0.6 ppb |
| Oldsmar Water System | 14,898 | 2.6 ppb |
| Gulfport Water System | 12,600 | 1.4 ppb |
| Belleair Water Plant | 5,299 | 1.6 ppb |
| Lake Tarpon Mobile Home Villag | 1,799 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Clearwater, FL
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Clearwater, FL 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 Clearwater 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.