Gratiot Waterworks, WI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.38 ppb (monitoring period 2020-2020). 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 Gratiot Waterworks
Gratiot Waterworks serves about 224 people through 82 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Lafayette County, Wisconsin. EPA system ID: WI1330074. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2017 (2.24 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Gratiot Waterworks is 2.24 ppb across 2 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1.38 ppb |
| 2017 | 2.24 ppb |
How Gratiot Waterworks compares
Of the 947 Wisconsin systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.33 ppb; 6 are over 15 ppb right now and 71 have gone over at some point. Gratiot Waterworks's 1.38 ppb sits at the 51st percentile in Wisconsin and the 61st nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Lafayette County
8 other systems share Lafayette County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Gratiot Waterworks. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington Waterworks | 2,235 | 0.99 ppb |
| Shullsburg Waterworks | 1,222 | 6.12 ppb |
| Belmont Waterworks | 989 | 3.95 ppb |
| Benton Waterworks | 976 | 0.98 ppb |
| Argyle Waterworks | 823 | 6.67 ppb |
| Blanchardville Waterworks | 810 | 0 (not detected) |
| South Wayne Waterworks | 478 | 0 (not detected) |
| Wiota Sanitary District | 98 | 0.51 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Gratiot, WI 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 Gratiot Waterworks 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.