Lower Kula, HI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3.7 ppb (monitoring period 2020-2020). 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.
Who runs the water here
Lower Kula serves about 3,522 people through 1,064 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Maui County, Hawaii. EPA system ID: HI0000247; phone on file: 808-270-7834. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is down 1.61 ppb from 5.31 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Lower Kula is 5.31 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3.7 ppb |
| 2020 | 5.31 ppb |
| 2019 | 4.41 ppb |
| 2016 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 112 Hawaii systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 0 are over 15 ppb right now and 1 have gone over at some point. Lower Kula's 3.7 ppb sits at the 97th percentile in Hawaii and the 86th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
34 other systems share Maui County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Lower Kula. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Wailuku | 74,511 | 0 (not detected) |
| Makawao | 29,868 | 0.88 ppb |
| Lahaina | 20,065 | 0.78 ppb |
| Kaanapali | 8,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Upper Kula | 7,686 | 1.7 ppb |
| Kapalua | 4,200 | 0 (not detected) |
| Kaunakakai | 3,702 | 0.77 ppb |
| Lanai City | 3,200 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hoolehua | 2,400 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hana | 1,284 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Wailuku, HI 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 Lower Kula 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.