Helechal-Guayabo, PR
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 ppb (monitoring period 2016-2016). 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
Helechal-Guayabo serves about 720 people through 269 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Barranquitas Municipio County, PR. EPA system ID: PR0510195; phone on file: 787-857-2869. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Helechal-Guayabo's lead record
The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Helechal-Guayabo is 3 ppb across 1 monitoring period, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 ppb |
How Helechal-Guayabo compares
Of the 111 PR systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 5 ppb; 10 are over 15 ppb right now and 16 have gone over at some point. Helechal-Guayabo's 3 ppb sits at the 37th percentile in PR and the 82nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
11 other systems share Barranquitas Municipio County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Helechal-Guayabo. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Las Bocas | 11,022 | - |
| Barranquitas Urbano | 3,538 | - |
| Barrancas Nuevo | 2,520 | - |
| Acued. Com. Bo. Quebradillas | 1,762 | 3 ppb |
| Acueducto Comunal Barrancas Centro, Inc. | 534 | 3 ppb |
| Acueducto Rural Tabor | 427 | 13 ppb |
| Acued. Comunal Comunidad Caabon Abajo | 254 | 3 ppb |
| Comunidad Doa Mayo, Inc. | 232 | - |
| Comunidad Los Muchos | 228 | - |
| Acued. Com. Tortuguero, La Tiza, Inc. | 147 | - |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Barranquitas, PR 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 Helechal-Guayabo 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.