High Knob, VA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 6.5 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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
High Knob serves about 1,500 people through 450 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Warren County, Virginia. EPA system ID: VA2187522; phone on file: 540-635-6086. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
High Knob's lead record
That is up 2.27 ppb from 4.23 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for High Knob is 6.5 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 6.5 ppb |
| 2023 | 4.23 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 2.63 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 996 Virginia systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 59 have gone over at some point. High Knob's 6.5 ppb sits at the 95th percentile in Virginia and the 94th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
9 other systems share Warren County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than High Knob. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Front Royal, Town Of | 15,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Shenandoah Shores Subdivision | 850 | 2.25 ppb |
| Shenandoah River Estates | 265 | 1.47 ppb |
| Freezeland Manor Subdivision | 140 | 2.52 ppb |
| Dungadin Subdivision | 120 | 14.7 ppb |
| Hidden Springs Senior Living Facility | 111 | 0 (not detected) |
| Jackson`S Meadow | 100 | 2.27 ppb |
| St Annes Loving Arms | 100 | 2.46 ppb |
| Brinklow Mhp James Street | 50 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Front Royal, VA 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 High Knob 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.