Rio Communities Water System, NM
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.3 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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.
Who runs the water here
Rio Communities Water System serves about 5,513 people through 1,983 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Valencia County, New Mexico. EPA system ID: NM3524832; phone on file: 505-525-9580. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Rio Communities Water System's lead record
Against the period ending 2023 (0.62 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Rio Communities Water System is 1.3 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.3 ppb |
| 2023 | 0.62 ppb |
| 2020 | 0.74 ppb |
| 2017 | 0.92 ppb |
Against other New Mexico systems
Of the 504 New Mexico systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 14 are over 15 ppb right now and 46 have gone over at some point. Rio Communities Water System's 1.3 ppb sits at the 48th percentile in New Mexico and the 61st nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
16 other systems share Valencia County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Rio Communities Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Los Lunas Water System | 19,400 | 5 ppb |
| Belen Water System | 10,830 | 0 (not detected) |
| Rio Del Oro Water System | 4,387 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bosque Farms Water Supply System | 4,367 | 1 ppb |
| Meadow Lake Water System | 2,760 | 0 (not detected) |
| Monterey Water Company Inc. | 1,472 | 1.4 ppb |
| Hi Mesa Water System | 259 | 0 (not detected) |
| Correo Water Association | 201 | 1.3 ppb |
| Bosque Gardens Mdwca | 141 | 2.2 ppb |
| Trails End Mhp | 112 | 3.4 ppb |
Next steps for Rio Communities, NM
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Rio Communities, NM 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 Rio Communities 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.