Espanola Water System, NM
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2022-2024). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
About Espanola Water System
Espanola Water System serves about 12,012 people through 3,930 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 Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. EPA system ID: NM3501921; phone on file: 505-927-8555. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Espanola Water System's lead record
Against the period ending 2021 (0.71 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Espanola Water System is 0.71 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 0.71 ppb |
| 2018 | 0.65 ppb |
| 2016 | 0.68 ppb |
Where this result ranks
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. Espanola Water System's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 23rd percentile in New Mexico and the 37th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Nearby utilities
40 other systems share Rio Arriba County; 30 of them have a higher latest lead result than Espanola Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Chama Water System | 1,573 | 9.1 ppb |
| 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 |
Your move
Look up your address in Espanola Water System's service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Espanola 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. A zero today does not rule out a jump later - the rules are tightening in 2027.