San Antonio Water System, TX
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.6 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. 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
San Antonio Water System serves about 2,643,729 people through 881,243 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Bexar County, Texas. EPA system ID: TX0150018; phone on file: 210-233-3536. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2021 (2.25 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for San Antonio Water System is 3.25 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.25 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2020 | 2.09 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.25 ppb |
| 2017 | 2.94 ppb |
Against other Texas systems
Of the 4,447 Texas systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.28 ppb; 15 are over 15 ppb right now and 202 have gone over at some point. San Antonio Water System's 1.6 ppb sits at the 77th percentile in Texas and the 65th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
40 other systems share Bexar County; 10 of them have a higher latest lead result than San Antonio Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Jbsa Sam Houston | 37,563 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Converse | 29,709 | 0.5 ppb |
| East Central Sud | 26,137 | 1.5 ppb |
| Jbsa Lackland | 20,907 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Universal City | 20,119 | 0.5 ppb |
| Atascosa Rural Wsc | 13,857 | 2 ppb |
| City Of Selma | 11,418 | 0 (not detected) |
| Jbsa Randolph | 10,949 | 2 ppb |
| Fair Oaks Ranch Utilities | 9,768 | 2.2 ppb |
| City Of Live Oak | 8,724 | 1.48 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; San Antonio, TX 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 San Antonio 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.