Helen, GA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.2 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.
About Helen
Helen serves about 1,851 people through 712 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in White County, Georgia. EPA system ID: GA3110001; phone on file: 706-878-2733. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Helen's lead record
That is down 1.4 ppb from 2.6 ppb in the period ending 2018. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Helen is 2.6 ppb across 2 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2018 | 2.6 ppb |
Against other Georgia systems
Of the 1,681 Georgia systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.68 ppb; 15 are over 15 ppb right now and 131 have gone over at some point. Helen's 1.2 ppb sits at the 60th percentile in Georgia and the 59th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in White County
16 other systems share White County; 7 of them have a higher latest lead result than Helen. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| White Co Water & Sewerage Auth | 6,380 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cleveland Waterworks | 5,587 | 0 (not detected) |
| Skylake | 1,173 | 1.3 ppb |
| Peaceful Valley | 289 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mt. Yonah Scenic Estates | 198 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mountain Creek Grove Resort | 191 | 9.2 ppb |
| Wildwood On Pink Mountain Hoa | 169 | 1.4 ppb |
| Swiss Colony Water Service | 153 | 0 (not detected) |
| Yonah East Subdivision | 137 | 1.9 ppb |
| Timberlane | 107 | 5 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Helen, GA 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 Helen 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.