Northampton Water Division, MA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.2 ppb (monitoring period 2019-2021). 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.
Northampton Water Division at a glance
Northampton Water Division serves about 29,571 people through 9,024 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 Hampshire County, Massachusetts. EPA system ID: MA1214000; phone on file: 4135871097. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2018 (1.3 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Northampton Water Division is 2.6 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.3 ppb |
| 2017 | 2.6 ppb |
How Northampton Water Division compares
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. Northampton Water Division's 1.2 ppb sits at the 39th percentile in Massachusetts and the 59th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
27 other systems share Hampshire County; 18 of them have a higher latest lead result than Northampton Water Division. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Amherst Dpw Water Division | 39,263 | 8 ppb |
| Easthampton Water Dept | 16,211 | 2.5 ppb |
| South Hadley Fd #1 (Mwra) | 14,800 | 4 ppb |
| Ware Water Dept | 10,066 | 4.7 ppb |
| South Hadley Fire District #2 Water Dept | 6,200 | 5.3 ppb |
| Southampton Water Dept | 4,853 | 4.1 ppb |
| Hadley Dpw Water Division | 4,819 | 4.6 ppb |
| Belchertown Water District | 3,253 | 3 ppb |
| Hatfield Water Dept | 3,164 | 23.1 ppb |
| Huntington Water Dept | 2,180 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Northampton, MA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Northampton, 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 Northampton Water Division 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.