Richwood Water Dept, WV
Above the federal action level
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 18.5 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. In the most recent monitoring period, more than 10% of the sampled homes measured above 15 ppb. Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead for drinking and cooking now, and test your own tap.
Who runs the water here
Richwood Water Dept serves about 2,480 people through 1,046 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 Nicholas County, West Virginia. EPA system ID: WV3303401; phone on file: 000-000-0000. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Richwood Water Dept's lead record
That is up 13.8 ppb from 4.7 ppb in the period ending 2018. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Richwood Water Dept is 18.5 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 18.5 ppb over 15 |
| 2018 | 4.7 ppb |
| 2016 | 4.4 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 408 West Virginia systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.9 ppb; 4 are over 15 ppb right now and 20 have gone over at some point. Richwood Water Dept's 18.5 ppb sits at the 99th percentile in West Virginia and the 99th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
6 other systems share Nicholas County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Richwood Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Wilderness Psd | 6,106 | 0.65 ppb |
| Summersville Municipal Water | 5,574 | 0.49 ppb |
| Craigsville Psd | 4,997 | 2.7 ppb |
| Nettie Leivasy Psd | 3,630 | 2.9 ppb |
| Birch River Psd | 1,369 | 0.58 ppb |
| Fenwick Mountain Psd | 554 | 0.51 ppb |
Next steps for Richwood, WV
Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead on the tap you drink and cook from, now, before you test. Then test your own tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Richwood Water Dept 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.