North East Public Water Auth, AR
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2028). 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 North East Public Water Auth
North East Public Water Auth serves about 4,665 people through 1,866 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 Baxter County, Arkansas. EPA system ID: AR0000033; phone on file: 870-421-0140. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2025 (2 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for North East Public Water Auth is 6 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 2 ppb |
| 2025 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 3 ppb |
| 2019 | 6 ppb |
| 2016 | 3 ppb |
How North East Public Water Auth compares
Of the 190 Arkansas systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 15 are over 15 ppb right now and 19 have gone over at some point. North East Public Water Auth's 2 ppb sits at the 69th percentile in Arkansas and the 72nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Baxter County
15 other systems share Baxter County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than North East Public Water Auth. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain Home Waterworks | 19,618 | 2 ppb |
| Lakeview-Midway Public Water Authority | 4,344 | 4 ppb |
| Gassville Waterworks | 2,058 | - |
| Brunner Hill Public Water Authority | 1,325 | - |
| Cotter Waterworks | 1,233 | - |
| Norfork Waterworks | 1,003 | - |
| Salesville Community Water Association | 715 | - |
| Big Flat Waterworks | 523 | - |
| Briarcliff Waterworks | 338 | - |
| Edgewood Bay Water | 308 | - |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Mountain Home, AR 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 North East Public Water Auth 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.