Keene Water Dept, NH
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (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. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
Keene Water Dept at a glance
Keene Water Dept serves about 30,000 people through 6,176 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 Cheshire County, New Hampshire. EPA system ID: NH1241010. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Keene Water Dept's lead record
That is down 2 ppb from 2 ppb in the period ending 2024. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Keene Water Dept is 5 ppb across 10 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2024 | 2 ppb |
| 2024 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 1 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 3 ppb |
| 2022 | 5 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 124 New Hampshire systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 16 ppb; 62 are over 15 ppb right now and 64 have gone over at some point. Keene Water Dept's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 20th percentile in New Hampshire and the 39th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Other water systems in Cheshire County
30 other systems share Cheshire County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Keene Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Jaffrey Water Works | 3,800 | 0 (not detected) |
| Winchester Water Dept | 2,800 | - |
| North Hinsdale Water Dept | 1,800 | - |
| N Swanzey Water And Fire Prct | 1,700 | - |
| Hinsdale Water Dept/Downtown | 1,600 | - |
| Troy Water Works | 1,200 | - |
| Walpole Water Dept | 1,057 | - |
| Marlborough Water Works | 750 | - |
| West Swanzey Water | 430 | - |
| Cheshire County Complex | 380 | 32 ppb |
Next steps for Keene, NH
Look up your address in Keene Water Dept's service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Keene Water Dept whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1500 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. A zero today does not rule out a jump later - the rules are tightening in 2027.