Laharpe, IL
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2026-2028). 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.
Who runs the water here
Laharpe serves about 1,200 people through 634 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Hancock County, Illinois. EPA system ID: IL0670450; phone on file: 217-659-7750. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2025 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Laharpe is 33.5 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2024 | 33.5 ppb over 15 |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
How Laharpe compares
Of the 1,744 Illinois systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 22 are over 15 ppb right now and 152 have gone over at some point. Laharpe's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 34th percentile in Illinois and the 28th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Other water systems in Hancock County
10 other systems share Hancock County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Laharpe. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | 2,753 | 0 (not detected) |
| Carthage | 2,510 | 0 (not detected) |
| Warsaw | 1,480 | 2.9 ppb |
| Nauvoo | 1,200 | 2.4 ppb |
| Dallas City | 788 | 0 (not detected) |
| Augusta | 553 | 4.3 ppb |
| Bowen | 494 | 1 ppb |
| Plymouth | 460 | 10 ppb |
| West Point | 248 | 0 (not detected) |
| Elvaston | 165 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; La Harpe, IL 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 Laharpe 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. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.