Lake Cushman System 5, WA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). 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.
Lake Cushman System 5 at a glance
Lake Cushman System 5 serves about 3,675 people through 1,630 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Mason County, Washington. EPA system ID: WA5303529. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Lake Cushman System 5's lead record
That is down 1.6 ppb from 3.6 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Lake Cushman System 5 is 3.6 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 3.6 ppb |
| 2019 | 3 ppb |
| 2016 | 3 ppb |
Against other Washington systems
Of the 2,218 Washington systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 18 are over 15 ppb right now and 62 have gone over at some point. Lake Cushman System 5's 2 ppb sits at the 70th percentile in Washington and the 72nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
119 other systems share Mason County; 33 of them have a higher latest lead result than Lake Cushman System 5. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Shelton City Of | 15,273 | 1.8 ppb |
| Belfair Water District 1 | 4,432 | 0 (not detected) |
| Timberlake Community Club Inc | 2,337 | 5 ppb |
| Washington Corrections Center | 2,223 | 1.6 ppb |
| Alderbrook Water Co | 2,154 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lake Limerick Water | 2,148 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lakeland Village Water | 2,120 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hoodsport | 1,853 | 2 ppb |
| Shorecrest Estates Water Co | 1,321 | 1 ppb |
| Beards Cove | 1,100 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Hoodsport, WA 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 Lake Cushman System 5 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. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.