Northumberland Shores, VA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5.37 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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.
Northumberland Shores at a glance
Northumberland Shores serves about 98 people through 49 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Northumberland County, Virginia. EPA system ID: VA4133680; phone on file: 804-550-5203. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
That is up 2.01 ppb from 3.36 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Northumberland Shores is 5.37 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 5.37 ppb |
| 2020 | 3.36 ppb |
| 2017 | 4.5 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 996 Virginia systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 59 have gone over at some point. Northumberland Shores's 5.37 ppb sits at the 93rd percentile in Virginia and the 92nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
38 other systems share Northumberland County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Northumberland Shores. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Bay Quarter Shores | 726 | 1 ppb |
| Reedville, Town Of | 480 | 2.15 ppb |
| Sherwood Forest Shores | 421 | 0 (not detected) |
| Callao | 393 | 1.32 ppb |
| Indian Creek Estates | 318 | 0.74 ppb |
| Heathsville | 306 | 1.36 ppb |
| Chesapeake Bay Estates | 288 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mallard Bay Subdivision | 264 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lottsburg | 201 | 2.9 ppb |
| White Sand Harbour | 200 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Callao, VA 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 Northumberland Shores 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.