Cortland (C), NY
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5 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.
About Cortland (C)
Cortland (C) serves about 20,095 people through 4,950 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Cortland County, New York. EPA system ID: NY1101754; phone on file: 607-753-3061. 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 3.8 ppb from 1.2 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Cortland (C) is 6.5 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.4 ppb |
| 2016 | 6.5 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 2,077 New York systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 17 are over 15 ppb right now and 165 have gone over at some point. Cortland (C)'s 5 ppb sits at the 86th percentile in New York and the 91st nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
22 other systems share Cortland County; 6 of them have a higher latest lead result than Cortland (C). If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Homer Village-Newton Water Works | 4,368 | 2 ppb |
| Cortlandville Town Water | 4,300 | 3 ppb |
| Virgil W.D. #1 - Greek Peak Waterworks | 1,400 | 6.9 ppb |
| Mcgraw Village | 1,306 | 12.1 ppb |
| Marathon Village | 1,107 | 2.2 ppb |
| Cincinnatus Water District | 650 | 3.4 ppb |
| Pine Hill Mobile, Inc. | 253 | 1 ppb |
| Scott Water District No. 1 | 154 | 2.1 ppb |
| Riverside Manor Trailer Park | 131 | 2.8 ppb |
| Country Meadows Mhp | 122 | 0.5 ppb |
Next steps for Cortland, NY
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cortland, NY 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 Cortland (C) 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.