Heber Springs Water System, AR
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.5 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2028). 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 Heber Springs Water System
Heber Springs Water System serves about 14,015 people through 5,473 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Cleburne County, Arkansas. EPA system ID: AR0000104; phone on file: 501-250-6223. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2025 (1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Heber Springs Water System is 7 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 1.5 ppb |
| 2025 | 1 ppb |
| 2022 | 7 ppb |
| 2019 | 3 ppb |
| 2016 | 5 ppb |
Against other Arkansas systems
Of the 190 Arkansas systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 15 are over 15 ppb right now and 19 have gone over at some point. Heber Springs Water System's 1.5 ppb sits at the 65th percentile in Arkansas and the 64th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Cleburne County
3 other systems share Cleburne County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Heber Springs Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain Top Water Association | 9,253 | 1 ppb |
| Tumbling Shoals Water Assoc | 6,608 | 1.3 ppb |
| Wilburn Water Association | 668 | - |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Heber Springs, AR 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 Heber Springs Water System 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.