Fairlee, MD
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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 Fairlee
Fairlee serves about 725 people through 341 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 groundwater, in Kent County, Maryland. EPA system ID: MD0140003; phone on file: 443-282-4167. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Fairlee's lead record
Against the period ending 2020 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Fairlee is 2 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
How Fairlee compares
Of the 437 Maryland systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 21 have gone over at some point. Fairlee's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 36th percentile in Maryland and the 25th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Neighbouring systems
11 other systems share Kent County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Fairlee. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Town Of Chestertown | 5,400 | 1.2 ppb |
| Town Of Rock Hall | 1,750 | 3.5 ppb |
| Worton | 955 | 0 (not detected) |
| Town Of Millington | 630 | 0 (not detected) |
| Town Of Galena | 560 | 1.5 ppb |
| Town Of Betterton | 481 | 5 ppb |
| Kennedyville | 300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Edesville | 296 | - |
| Millington Distribution System | 260 | - |
| Hilltop Trailer Park | 65 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Look up your address in Fairlee'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 Fairlee 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. Small systems behave differently: why small systems go over more often.