Norton Water Department, MA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.2 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). 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.
Norton Water Department at a glance
Norton Water Department serves about 19,161 people through 5,932 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 groundwater, in Bristol County, Massachusetts. EPA system ID: MA4218000; phone on file: 5082850280. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Norton Water Department's lead record
Against the period ending 2025 (1 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Norton Water Department is 11 ppb across 19 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2025 | 1 ppb |
| 2025 | 2 ppb |
| 2024 | 1 ppb |
| 2024 | 4 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 2 ppb |
| 2021 | 2 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2020 | 4 ppb |
| 2019 | 5 ppb |
| 2019 | 8 ppb |
| 2018 | 7 ppb |
| 2018 | 9 ppb |
| 2017 | 7 ppb |
| 2017 | 8 ppb |
| 2016 | 11 ppb over 10 |
Against other Massachusetts systems
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. Norton Water Department's 1.2 ppb sits at the 38th percentile in Massachusetts and the 59th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Bristol County
27 other systems share Bristol County; 17 of them have a higher latest lead result than Norton Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Inima Usa / Aquaria Llc | 105,643 | - |
| City Of New Bedford Dpi | 101,079 | 4.1 ppb |
| Fall River Water Department | 94,000 | 12 ppb |
| Taunton Water Division | 62,165 | 1.8 ppb |
| Attleboro Water Dept | 46,461 | 1.33 ppb |
| North Attleboro Water Dept | 31,410 | 5.1 ppb |
| Easton Water Div | 25,058 | 1.9 ppb |
| Dartmouth Water Division | 24,696 | 7 ppb |
| Mansfield Water Division | 21,797 | 1.9 ppb |
| Somerset Water Department | 18,303 | 10 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Norton, 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 Norton Water Department 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.