New York City System, NY
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 10 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2024). 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.
About New York City System
New York City System serves about 8,271,000 people through 727,058 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Bronx,Kings,New York,Queens,Richmond County, New York. EPA system ID: NY7003493. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
New York City System's lead record
Against the period ending 2023 (11 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for New York City System is 12 ppb across 10 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (8 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 ppb |
| 2023 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2022 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2022 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2021 | 12 ppb over 10 |
| 2020 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2019 | 10 ppb |
| 2018 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2017 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2016 | 11 ppb over 10 |
Against other New York systems
Of the 2,077 New York systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 17 are over 15 ppb right now and 165 have gone over at some point. New York City System's 10 ppb sits at the 97th percentile in New York and the 97th nationally (higher means more lead).
Next steps for Valhalla, NY
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Valhalla, NY 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 New York City System 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.