Nelsonville Pws, OH
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.2 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). 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
Nelsonville Pws serves about 6,656 people through 2,207 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 groundwater, in Athens County, Ohio. EPA system ID: OH0501214; phone on file: 740-753-1314. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2025 (1.6 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Nelsonville Pws is 5.6 ppb across 9 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2024 | 2.2 ppb |
| 2023 | 3.4 ppb |
| 2022 | 3.3 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.3 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 5.6 ppb |
How Nelsonville Pws compares
Of the 1,079 Ohio systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.7 ppb; 1 are over 15 ppb right now and 27 have gone over at some point. Nelsonville Pws's 1.2 ppb sits at the 62nd percentile in Ohio and the 59th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
12 other systems share Athens County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Nelsonville Pws. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Athens Pws | 32,725 | 0 (not detected) |
| Le-Ax Regional Water District Pws | 19,311 | 1.19 ppb |
| Sunday Creek Valley Water Pws | 5,451 | 1.7 ppb |
| Athens Co., The Plains S.D. 1 Pws | 3,276 | 2 ppb |
| Burr Oak Regional Water District | 1,994 | 1.6 ppb |
| Glouster Public Water System | 1,659 | 0.8 ppb |
| Chauncey | 1,428 | 1.19 ppb |
| Albany Village Pws | 901 | 0 (not detected) |
| Coolville Village Pws | 859 | 2.8 ppb |
| Jacksonville Village Pws | 481 | 0.3 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Nelsonville, OH 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 Nelsonville Pws 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.