Ruidoso Water System, NM
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.3 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.
About Ruidoso Water System
Ruidoso Water System serves about 15,947 people through 7,183 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 Lincoln County, New Mexico. EPA system ID: NM3513114; phone on file: 575-258-4343. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is down 1.8 ppb from 4.1 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Ruidoso Water System is 6.4 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.3 ppb |
| 2023 | 4.1 ppb |
| 2020 | 6.4 ppb |
| 2017 | 2.6 ppb |
How Ruidoso Water System compares
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. Ruidoso Water System's 2.3 ppb sits at the 68th percentile in New Mexico and the 76th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
18 other systems share Lincoln County; 12 of them have a higher latest lead result than Ruidoso Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Alto Lakes Water And Sanitation District | 2,870 | 6.1 ppb |
| Ruidoso Downs Water System | 2,146 | 1.5 ppb |
| Capitan Water System | 1,821 | 2.1 ppb |
| Carrizozo Water System | 1,136 | 2 ppb |
| Cds Rainmakers Util Llc Rancho Ruidoso | 877 | 2.5 ppb |
| Bonita Park Nazarene Conference Center | 460 | 4.2 ppb |
| Sun Valley Water And Sanitation District | 443 | 36.1 ppb |
| Lincoln Hills Water Co-Op | 338 | 0 (not detected) |
| Corona Water System | 333 | 1.2 ppb |
| Alto Mountain Village | 271 | 4.3 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Ruidoso, 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 Ruidoso 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.