Housatonic Water Works, MA
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.1 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
Housatonic Water Works at a glance
Housatonic Water Works serves about 1,391 people through 819 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. EPA system ID: MA1113003; phone on file: 4135281780. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2025 (1.66 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Housatonic Water Works is 19 ppb across 21 monitoring periods, 3 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.1 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.66 ppb |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 5.9 ppb |
| 2023 | 11.8 ppb over 10 |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 5 ppb |
| 2022 | 2.2 ppb |
| 2021 | 8.7 ppb |
| 2021 | 18 ppb over 15 |
| 2021 | 3 ppb |
| 2021 | 14.4 ppb over 10 |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 2.6 ppb |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 1.92 ppb |
| 2018 | 16.9 ppb over 15 |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 7.4 ppb |
| 2017 | 19 ppb over 15 |
Where this result ranks
Of the 535 Massachusetts systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.7 ppb; 13 are over 15 ppb right now and 66 have gone over at some point. Housatonic Water Works's 1.1 ppb sits at the 36th percentile in Massachusetts and the 57th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
37 other systems share Berkshire County; 21 of them have a higher latest lead result than Housatonic Water Works. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsfield Dpu Water Dept | 43,927 | 2.4 ppb |
| North Adams Water Dept | 13,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lenox Dpw Water Division | 9,800 | 0 (not detected) |
| Adams Fire District | 7,945 | 0 (not detected) |
| Williamstown Water Dept | 7,326 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dalton Fire District | 6,330 | 1.15 ppb |
| Lee Water Dept | 5,686 | 1.1 ppb |
| Great Barrington Fire Dist | 4,380 | 5.3 ppb |
| Stockbridge Water Dept | 2,800 | 5 ppb |
| Lanesborough Fire And Water District | 2,342 | 2.2 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Great Barrington, MA 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 Housatonic Water Works whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1400 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.