Salem Water Dept, NH
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 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 Salem Water Dept
Salem Water Dept serves about 21,080 people through 6,954 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 Rockingham County, New Hampshire. EPA system ID: NH2051010. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2022 (3 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Salem Water Dept is 5 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 3 ppb |
| 2019 | 3 ppb |
| 2019 | 2 ppb |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
| 2016 | 5 ppb |
How Salem Water Dept compares
Of the 124 New Hampshire systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 16 ppb; 62 are over 15 ppb right now and 64 have gone over at some point. Salem Water Dept's 2 ppb sits at the 37th percentile in New Hampshire and the 73rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Rockingham County
185 other systems share Rockingham County; 13 of them have a higher latest lead result than Salem Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth Water Works | 33,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Derry Water Dept | 17,528 | 0 (not detected) |
| Seabrook Water Dept | 14,000 | 3 ppb |
| Exeter Water Dept | 12,236 | 0 (not detected) |
| Pease Trade Port | 9,900 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hampstead Area Water | 7,153 | 2 ppb |
| Londonderry | 6,255 | 4 ppb |
| Newmarket Water Works | 5,030 | 2 ppb |
| Rye Water Dist | 4,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Raymond Water Dept | 3,300 | 1 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Salem, NH 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 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. 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.