Newton Water Dept. (Mwra), MA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.09 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.
Who runs the water here
Newton Water Dept. (Mwra) serves about 88,931 people through 24,149 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. EPA system ID: MA3207000; phone on file: 6177961640. 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 2024 (1.94 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Newton Water Dept. (Mwra) is 4.45 ppb across 10 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.09 ppb |
| 2024 | 1.94 ppb |
| 2022 | 2.64 ppb |
| 2022 | 4.45 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.28 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.47 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.44 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.79 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.26 ppb |
| 2017 | 2.79 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 535 Massachusetts systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.7 ppb; 13 are over 15 ppb right now and 66 have gone over at some point. Newton Water Dept. (Mwra)'s 1.09 ppb sits at the 35th percentile in Massachusetts and the 56th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
94 other systems share Middlesex County; 60 of them have a higher latest lead result than Newton Water Dept. (Mwra). If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Lowell Regional Water Utility | 120,418 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cambridge Water Department | 118,214 | 8 ppb |
| Somerville Water Dept. (Mwra) | 81,045 | 6.62 ppb |
| Framingham Water Dept. (Mwra) | 72,362 | 1.74 ppb |
| Malden Water Division (Mwra) | 66,263 | 9.74 ppb |
| Waltham Water Department | 65,218 | 2.24 ppb |
| Medford Water Dept. (Mwra) | 61,700 | 8.31 ppb |
| Everett Water Dept. (Mwra) | 49,075 | 1.25 ppb |
| Arlington Water Dept. (Mwra) | 46,308 | 2.68 ppb |
| Billerica Water Works | 42,119 | 2.4 ppb |
Next steps for Newton, MA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Newton, MA 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 Newton Water Dept. (Mwra) 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.