Sparta Twp Water Utility -- Highlands, NJ
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.68 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). 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.
Who runs the water here
Sparta Twp Water Utility -- Highlands serves about 1,618 people through 558 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Sussex County, New Jersey. EPA system ID: NJ1918003; phone on file: 973-729-7133. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
That is up 1.3 ppb from 1.38 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Sparta Twp Water Utility -- Highlands is 13.5 ppb across 20 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.68 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.38 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.54 ppb |
| 2024 | 1.3 ppb |
| 2024 | 4.52 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 2.04 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.3 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.1 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.82 ppb |
| 2020 | 2.65 ppb |
| 2020 | 13.5 ppb over 10 |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 2 ppb |
| 2018 | 3 ppb |
| 2018 | 2 ppb |
| 2017 | 3 ppb |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 4 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 605 New Jersey systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 5 are over 15 ppb right now and 52 have gone over at some point. Sparta Twp Water Utility -- Highlands's 2.68 ppb sits at the 76th percentile in New Jersey and the 79th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Sussex County
59 other systems share Sussex County; 26 of them have a higher latest lead result than Sparta Twp Water Utility -- Highlands. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Sparta Twp Water Utility - Lake Mohawk | 17,625 | 1.01 ppb |
| Newton Water & Sewer Utility | 8,300 | 2.75 ppb |
| Hopatcong Water Dept | 7,224 | 9.37 ppb |
| Veolia Water New Jersey Vernon Valley | 5,517 | 0 (not detected) |
| Franklin Bd Of Public Works | 5,500 | 1.09 ppb |
| Stanhope W Dept | 3,730 | 5.88 ppb |
| Hamburg Board Of Public | 3,382 | 2.01 ppb |
| Ogdensburg W Dept | 2,800 | 1.66 ppb |
| Sussex W Dept | 2,201 | 0 (not detected) |
| Montague Water Co. | 2,165 | 2 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Sparta, NJ 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 Sparta Twp Water Utility -- Highlands whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1600 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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.