Paris Utility District, ME
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.1 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.
About Paris Utility District
Paris Utility District serves about 2,940 people through 1,176 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Oxford County, Maine. EPA system ID: ME0091230; phone on file: 207-743-6251. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2021 (2.5 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Paris Utility District is 2.7 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.1 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.5 ppb |
| 2018 | 2.1 ppb |
| 2018 | 2.1 ppb |
| 2016 | 2.7 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 358 Maine systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 40 have gone over at some point. Paris Utility District's 2.1 ppb sits at the 65th percentile in Maine and the 74th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Oxford County
14 other systems share Oxford County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Paris Utility District. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Rumford Water District | 4,050 | 3.7 ppb |
| Mexico Water District | 2,425 | 1.4 ppb |
| Fryeburg Water Company | 2,085 | 1.2 ppb |
| Norway Water District | 2,043 | 3.4 ppb |
| Bethel Water District | 1,813 | 4.9 ppb |
| Dixfield Water & Sewer Dept | 1,415 | 0 (not detected) |
| Oxford Water District | 1,100 | 2.2 ppb |
| West Paris Water District | 540 | 3.1 ppb |
| Buckfield Village Corporation | 425 | 0 (not detected) |
| Andover Water District | 265 | 9 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; South Paris, ME 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 Paris Utility District 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.