Northfield Water Dept, VT
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). 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 Northfield Water Dept
Northfield Water Dept serves about 5,145 people through 1,258 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 Washington County, Vermont. EPA system ID: VT0005275; phone on file: 802-279-1274. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Northfield Water Dept's lead record
That is up 5 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Northfield Water Dept is 15 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 2.9 ppb |
| 2016 | 15 ppb over 10 |
Against other Vermont systems
Of the 372 Vermont systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 7 are over 15 ppb right now and 65 have gone over at some point. Northfield Water Dept's 5 ppb sits at the 88th percentile in Vermont and the 91st nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
41 other systems share Washington County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Northfield Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Barre City Water System | 14,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Montpelier Water System | 8,912 | 2 ppb |
| Edward Farrar Utility District | 6,003 | 2.2 ppb |
| Mountain Water Company | 2,400 | 1.8 ppb |
| Berlin Municipal Water System | 1,819 | 2 ppb |
| Barre Town Water System | 1,638 | 0 (not detected) |
| Central Vermont Medical Center | 1,528 | 6.1 ppb |
| Plainfield Water System | 985 | 2.6 ppb |
| Graniteville Fire District 4 | 700 | 0 (not detected) |
| Waitsfield Water Supply | 450 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Northfield, VT 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 Northfield Water Dept 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.