Oregon City, OR
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.84 ppb (monitoring period 2022-2024). 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.
Who runs the water here
Oregon City serves about 33,940 people through 11,514 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 Clackamas County, Oregon. EPA system ID: OR4101511; phone on file: 503-657-8241. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
That is up 1.84 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Oregon City is 3 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.84 ppb |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 3 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 909 Oregon systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 15 are over 15 ppb right now and 71 have gone over at some point. Oregon City's 1.84 ppb sits at the 65th percentile in Oregon and the 68th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
85 other systems share Clackamas County; 40 of them have a higher latest lead result than Oregon City. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Water Authority | 50,003 | 3 ppb |
| Lake Oswego Municipal Water | 40,000 | 1.8 ppb |
| Oak Lodge Water Services | 30,000 | 2.67 ppb |
| Clackamas River Water | 29,918 | 1.73 ppb |
| West Linn, City Of | 28,000 | 1.84 ppb |
| Wilsonville, City Of | 25,915 | 7.6 ppb |
| Milwaukie, City Of | 20,946 | 0 (not detected) |
| Clackamas River Water - Clairmont | 19,928 | 1.99 ppb |
| Canby Utility | 18,754 | 2.1 ppb |
| Sandy, City Of | 12,991 | 4.14 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Oregon City, OR 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 Oregon City 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.