Fernwood Water Dist, ID
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 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.
Who runs the water here
Fernwood Water Dist serves about 521 people through 211 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is under mixed public and private ownership and draws surface water, in Benewah County, Idaho. EPA system ID: ID1050011; phone on file: 208-245-3554. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Fernwood Water Dist's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Fernwood Water Dist is 1 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 ppb |
| 2022 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 0 (not detected) |
How Fernwood Water Dist compares
Of the 763 Idaho systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 46 have gone over at some point. Fernwood Water Dist's 1 ppb sits at the 53rd percentile in Idaho and the 53rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
8 other systems share Benewah County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Fernwood Water Dist. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| St Maries City Of | 4,173 | 1 ppb |
| Plummer City Of | 1,034 | 1 ppb |
| Santa Water And Sewer Dist | 160 | 1 ppb |
| Cottonwood Point Water Assn | 158 | 4 ppb |
| Tensed City Of | 146 | 3.8 ppb |
| Emida Water And Sewer Association | 120 | 0 (not detected) |
| Evergreen Terrace Water Association | 85 | 1 ppb |
| Cassandra Hills Owners Assn | 57 | 1 ppb |
Next steps for Fernwood, ID
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Fernwood, ID 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 Fernwood Water Dist 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.