Helena Water System, MT
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 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.
Helena Water System at a glance
Helena Water System serves about 32,091 people through 12,742 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 Lewis And Clark County, Montana. EPA system ID: MT0000241; phone on file: 406-457-8512. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Helena Water System's lead record
Against the period ending 2021 (3 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Helena Water System is 3 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 ppb |
| 2021 | 3 ppb |
| 2018 | 1 ppb |
Against other Montana systems
Of the 753 Montana systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 5 are over 15 ppb right now and 28 have gone over at some point. Helena Water System's 3 ppb sits at the 87th percentile in Montana and the 83rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Lewis And Clark County
50 other systems share Lewis And Clark County; 6 of them have a higher latest lead result than Helena Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| East Helena City Of | 2,114 | 1 ppb |
| Eastgate Village Sewer And Water | 2,000 | 1 ppb |
| Va Medical Center Helena | 1,275 | 7 ppb |
| Helena Leisure Llc | 1,200 | 1 ppb |
| Ten Mile And Pleasant Valley Wua | 750 | 0 (not detected) |
| North Star Pud | 715 | 7 ppb |
| Treasure State Acres Wua | 483 | 2 ppb |
| La Casa Grande Water And Sewer District | 404 | 2 ppb |
| Skyview Water And Sewer Utility | 400 | 2 ppb |
| Golden Estates Homeowners Association | 400 | 5 ppb |
Next steps for Helena, MT
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Helena, MT 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 Helena 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.