Cortez City Of, CO
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.2 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.
Cortez City Of at a glance
Cortez City Of serves about 8,770 people through 3,725 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Montezuma County, Colorado. EPA system ID: CO0142200; phone on file: 970-565-7320. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is down 1.2 ppb from 3.4 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Cortez City Of is 4.8 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.2 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.4 ppb |
| 2020 | 4.8 ppb |
| 2019 | 3.8 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.3 ppb |
| 2016 | 2.8 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,025 Colorado systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 71 have gone over at some point. Cortez City Of's 2.2 ppb sits at the 77th percentile in Colorado and the 75th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Montezuma County
9 other systems share Montezuma County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Cortez City Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Montezuma Wc | 13,797 | 2.9 ppb |
| Dolores Town Of | 1,626 | 2.3 ppb |
| Mancos Town Of | 1,390 | 0.9 ppb |
| Mancos Rural Water Company | 1,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Montezuma Cnty Wd No 1 | 490 | 0 (not detected) |
| Oak Meadows Mhp | 200 | 0.8 ppb |
| Vista Verde Village | 200 | 0.3 ppb |
| Elegant Hills Mhp | 170 | 1.6 ppb |
| Neighbors Of 7th Street Mhp | 96 | 1.4 ppb |
Next steps for Cortez, CO
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cortez, CO 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 Cortez City Of 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.