Richford Water System, VT
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.6 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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 Richford Water System
Richford Water System serves about 1,700 people through 771 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 surface water, in Franklin County, Vermont. EPA system ID: VT0005126; phone on file: 802-848-7751. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Richford Water System's lead record
That is down 7.6 ppb from 9.2 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Richford Water System is 9.2 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2020 | 9.2 ppb |
| 2017 | 9 ppb |
| 2016 | 3 ppb |
How Richford Water System compares
Of the 372 Vermont systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 7 are over 15 ppb right now and 65 have gone over at some point. Richford Water System's 1.6 ppb sits at the 54th percentile in Vermont and the 65th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
21 other systems share Franklin County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Richford Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| St Albans Water Dept | 10,200 | 0 (not detected) |
| Swanton Village Water | 4,000 | 5 ppb |
| Enosburg Falls Water System | 1,700 | 2.2 ppb |
| Fairfax Water Dept | 1,550 | 0 (not detected) |
| Montgomery Water System | 530 | 1.6 ppb |
| South Georgia Fire District | 500 | 0 (not detected) |
| Sheldon Water System | 480 | 1 ppb |
| Bakersfield Fire District 1 | 446 | 2 ppb |
| Franklin Water System | 400 | 0.8 ppb |
| East Berkshire Fire District 1 | 184 | 0.6 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Richford, VT 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 Richford Water System 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.