Lick Observatory-Ucsc, CA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3.2 ppb (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. 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.
Lick Observatory-Ucsc at a glance
Lick Observatory-Ucsc serves about 369 people through 29 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by the state and draws surface water, in Santa Clara County, California. EPA system ID: CA4300909; phone on file: 408-238-9614. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lick Observatory-Ucsc's lead record
Against the period ending 2021 (3.1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Lick Observatory-Ucsc is 3.6 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3.2 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.1 ppb |
| 2018 | 3.6 ppb |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 2,884 California systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 30 are over 15 ppb right now and 215 have gone over at some point. Lick Observatory-Ucsc's 3.2 ppb sits at the 87th percentile in California and the 84th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
72 other systems share Santa Clara County; 10 of them have a higher latest lead result than Lick Observatory-Ucsc. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose Water | 1,039,920 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Sunnyvale | 157,566 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Santa Clara | 134,587 | 2.7 ppb |
| Great Oaks Wc Inc | 112,582 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of San Jose - Evg/Edv/Coy | 99,783 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Milpitas | 81,915 | 2.5 ppb |
| City Of Mountain View | 81,340 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Palo Alto | 67,658 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cwsc Los Altos Suburban | 63,559 | 1.5 ppb |
| City Of Gilroy | 59,426 | 2 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Mount Hamilton, CA 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 Lick Observatory-Ucsc 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.