Halifax Water Department, MA
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 6 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2023). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
Who runs the water here
Halifax Water Department serves about 7,575 people through 2,875 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. EPA system ID: MA4118000; phone on file: 7812931733. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Halifax Water Department's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (6 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Halifax Water Department is 17 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 6 ppb |
| 2022 | 6 ppb |
| 2021 | 7 ppb |
| 2020 | 13 ppb over 10 |
| 2019 | 12 ppb over 10 |
| 2018 | 5 ppb |
| 2018 | 7 ppb |
| 2017 | 17 ppb over 15 |
Where this result ranks
Of the 535 Massachusetts systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.7 ppb; 13 are over 15 ppb right now and 66 have gone over at some point. Halifax Water Department's 6 ppb sits at the 89th percentile in Massachusetts and the 93rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
44 other systems share Plymouth County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Halifax Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Brockton Water Department | 105,788 | 4 ppb |
| Plymouth Water Department | 47,100 | 2.5 ppb |
| Weir River Water System | 45,339 | 0 (not detected) |
| Marshfield Water Department | 34,000 | 4 ppb |
| Abington/Rockland Joint Wtr. Works | 33,387 | 4 ppb |
| Mattapoisett River Valley W.D. | 29,600 | - |
| Bridgewater Water Department | 28,633 | 3 ppb |
| Wareham Fire District | 20,102 | 2 ppb |
| Scituate Water Division | 19,297 | 2 ppb |
| Pembroke Water Division Dpw | 18,175 | 3 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Halifax, MA 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 Halifax Water Department 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. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.