Portsmouth Water & Fire District, RI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4.8 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 Portsmouth Water & Fire District
Portsmouth Water & Fire District serves about 17,090 people through 6,922 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 Newport County, Rhode Island. EPA system ID: RI1592022; phone on file: 401-683-2090. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is up 1.4 ppb from 3.4 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Portsmouth Water & Fire District is 10 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4.8 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.4 ppb |
| 2019 | 10 ppb |
| 2018 | 7.1 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 78 Rhode Island systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.1 ppb; 6 are over 15 ppb right now and 17 have gone over at some point. Portsmouth Water & Fire District's 4.8 ppb sits at the 86th percentile in Rhode Island and the 90th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
11 other systems share Newport County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Portsmouth Water & Fire District. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Newport-City Of | 42,155 | 4.4 ppb |
| North Tiverton Fire District | 8,969 | 1.9 ppb |
| Naval Station, Newport | 7,870 | 7.7 ppb |
| Jamestown Water Department | 3,348 | 1.1 ppb |
| Tiverton Water Authority, Town Hall | 3,213 | 3 ppb |
| Stone Bridge Fire District | 2,793 | - |
| United States Navy -Fort Adams | 320 | 0 (not detected) |
| Meadowlark, Inc. | 183 | - |
| Heritage Park Home Co-Operative | 60 | 3 ppb |
| Four Seasons Mhp Co-Op Assn. | 40 | - |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Portsmouth, RI 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 Water & Fire 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.