Skamokawa Water System, WA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4.2 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.
Skamokawa Water System at a glance
Skamokawa Water System serves about 267 people through 62 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Wahkiakum County, Washington. EPA system ID: WA5305198. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Lead results over time
That is down 6.7 ppb from 10.9 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Skamokawa Water System is 10.9 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4.2 ppb |
| 2021 | 10.9 ppb over 10 |
| 2018 | 1.5 ppb |
Against other Washington systems
Of the 2,218 Washington systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 18 are over 15 ppb right now and 62 have gone over at some point. Skamokawa Water System's 4.2 ppb sits at the 89th percentile in Washington and the 89th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
3 other systems share Wahkiakum County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Skamokawa Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Cathlamet Water Dept | 1,636 | 2 ppb |
| Puget Island | 920 | 1.7 ppb |
| Western Wahkiakum | 791 | 1.2 ppb |
Next steps for Cathlamet, WA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cathlamet, WA 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 Skamokawa 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.