Salem City, UT
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3.3 ppb (monitoring period 2025-2027). 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 Salem City
Salem City serves about 11,281 people through 4,190 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 groundwater, in Utah County, Utah. EPA system ID: UTAH25001; phone on file: 801-420-0343. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Salem City's lead record
Against the period ending 2025 (3.3 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Salem City is 6.8 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 3.3 ppb |
| 2025 | 3.3 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2019 | 3 ppb |
| 2016 | 6.8 ppb |
How Salem City compares
Of the 521 Utah systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.71 ppb; 8 are over 15 ppb right now and 27 have gone over at some point. Salem City's 3.3 ppb sits at the 77th percentile in Utah and the 84th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
42 other systems share Utah County; 7 of them have a higher latest lead result than Salem City. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Provo City | 116,288 | 4.3 ppb |
| Orem City Water System | 98,129 | 2.2 ppb |
| Lehi City | 93,446 | 3 ppb |
| Saratoga Springs City | 68,000 | 1.7 ppb |
| Eagle Mountain City | 61,266 | 1.5 ppb |
| Spanish Fork City | 47,169 | 1 ppb |
| Pleasant Grove City | 40,000 | 1.4 ppb |
| American Fork City | 39,045 | 3.7 ppb |
| Springville City | 35,516 | 1.1 ppb |
| Highland City | 22,000 | 1.7 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Santaquin, UT 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 Salem City 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.