Hampstead Area Water, NH
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 ppb (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. 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
Hampstead Area Water serves about 7,153 people through 2,824 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. EPA system ID: NH1031010. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2023 (2 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Hampstead Area Water is 6 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 3 ppb |
| 2022 | 2 ppb |
| 2020 | 4 ppb |
| 2019 | 6 ppb |
| 2019 | 1 ppb |
| 2017 | 5 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 124 New Hampshire systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 16 ppb; 62 are over 15 ppb right now and 64 have gone over at some point. Hampstead Area Water's 2 ppb sits at the 33rd percentile in New Hampshire and the 73rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Rockingham County
185 other systems share Rockingham County; 13 of them have a higher latest lead result than Hampstead Area Water. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth Water Works | 33,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Salem Water Dept | 21,080 | 2 ppb |
| Derry Water Dept | 17,528 | 0 (not detected) |
| Seabrook Water Dept | 14,000 | 3 ppb |
| Exeter Water Dept | 12,236 | 0 (not detected) |
| Pease Trade Port | 9,900 | 0 (not detected) |
| Londonderry | 6,255 | 4 ppb |
| Newmarket Water Works | 5,030 | 2 ppb |
| Rye Water Dist | 4,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Raymond Water Dept | 3,300 | 1 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Atkinson, NH 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 Hampstead Area Water 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.