Portsmouth City, OH
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.6 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.
Portsmouth City at a glance
Portsmouth City serves about 40,475 people through 13,442 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 Scioto County, Ohio. EPA system ID: OH7300111; phone on file: 740-354-8807. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Portsmouth City's lead record
Against the period ending 2025 (1.4 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Portsmouth City is 2.5 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.4 ppb |
| 2024 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2023 | 2.5 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.4 ppb |
| 2021 | 1 ppb |
| 2018 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,079 Ohio systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.7 ppb; 1 are over 15 ppb right now and 27 have gone over at some point. Portsmouth City's 1.6 ppb sits at the 70th percentile in Ohio and the 65th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
16 other systems share Scioto County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Portsmouth City. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Scioto Co. Regional Water District #1 | 13,820 | 1.1 ppb |
| Northwest Regional Water District | 11,059 | 2.8 ppb |
| Scioto Water Inc.-Rose Hill | 8,861 | 1.5 ppb |
| Scioto Water Inc.-Sugar Camp | 6,458 | 2 ppb |
| Scioto Water Inc. - Pond Run | 845 | 2.8 ppb |
| Scioto Water Inc.-Sr125 | 537 | 0 (not detected) |
| Scioto Water Inc.-Careys Run | 352 | 4 ppb |
| Scioto Water Inc - Stony Run | 178 | 0.5 ppb |
| Scioto Water, Inc.-Davis Camp | 134 | 0 (not detected) |
| Scioto Water Inc. - Gliem Rd Pws | 132 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Portsmouth, OH
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Portsmouth, OH 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 Portsmouth 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.