Independence Water System, OR
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 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.
Independence Water System at a glance
Independence Water System serves about 10,300 people through 2,648 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 groundwater, in Polk County, Oregon. EPA system ID: OR4100399; phone on file: 503-838-4781. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is up 1.2 ppb from 1.8 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Independence Water System is 5.5 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.8 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.8 ppb |
| 2019 | 5.5 ppb |
| 2017 | 5.5 ppb |
| 2016 | 3.3 ppb |
Against other Oregon systems
Of the 909 Oregon systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 15 are over 15 ppb right now and 71 have gone over at some point. Independence Water System's 3 ppb sits at the 79th percentile in Oregon and the 83rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
11 other systems share Polk County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Independence Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas, City Of | 17,911 | 4.3 ppb |
| Monmouth, City Of | 11,651 | 0 (not detected) |
| Luckiamute Domestic Water Coop | 2,738 | 1.2 ppb |
| Perrydale Domestic Wtr Assn | 2,655 | 0 (not detected) |
| Grand Ronde Community Wtr Assn | 2,500 | 2.3 ppb |
| Rickreall Water Association | 1,650 | 0 (not detected) |
| Falls City, City Of | 1,051 | 1.3 ppb |
| Buell-Red Prairie Wd | 800 | 1.3 ppb |
| Orchard Heights Water Assn | 381 | 1.5 ppb |
| Rock Creek Water District | 300 | 2 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Independence, OR 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 Independence Water System whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1450 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.