Houlton Water Company, ME
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3.4 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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 Houlton Water Company
Houlton Water Company serves about 4,735 people through 1,894 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Aroostook County, Maine. EPA system ID: ME0090700; phone on file: 207-532-2259. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2020 (3.6 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Houlton Water Company is 3.6 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3.4 ppb |
| 2020 | 3.6 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.1 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.1 ppb |
| 2016 | 3.2 ppb |
Against other Maine systems
Of the 358 Maine systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 40 have gone over at some point. Houlton Water Company's 3.4 ppb sits at the 78th percentile in Maine and the 85th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
37 other systems share Aroostook County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Houlton Water Company. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Presque Isle Utilities District | 6,128 | 1.5 ppb |
| Caribou Utilities District | 3,943 | 0 (not detected) |
| Madawaska Water District | 2,738 | 0 (not detected) |
| Van Buren Water District | 2,190 | 2.7 ppb |
| Fort Fairfield Utilities District | 2,025 | 1.8 ppb |
| Fort Kent W & W Department | 1,578 | 1.9 ppb |
| Mars Hill And Blaine Water Company | 1,500 | 3.4 ppb |
| Limestone Water & Sewer District | 875 | 2.6 ppb |
| Ashland Water & Sewer District | 713 | 2.3 ppb |
| Washburn Water & Sewer District | 688 | 2 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Houlton, ME 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 Houlton Water Company 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.