St. Michael Water System, AK
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3.2 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.
St. Michael Water System at a glance
St. Michael Water System serves about 495 people through 91 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a Native American tribe and draws surface water, in Nome Census Area County, Alaska. EPA system ID: AK2340337; phone on file: 907-923-3222. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
That is up 1.18 ppb from 2.02 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for St. Michael Water System is 3.2 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3.2 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.02 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.02 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.02 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.02 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.75 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.75 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.75 ppb |
How St. Michael Water System compares
Of the 394 Alaska systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.6 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 53 have gone over at some point. St. Michael Water System's 3.2 ppb sits at the 75th percentile in Alaska and the 84th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
16 other systems share Nome Census Area County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than St. Michael Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Nome Joint Utility System | 3,920 | 2.41 ppb |
| Savoonga Water Supply | 802 | 2.6 ppb |
| Unalakleet City Water Supply | 757 | 1.4 ppb |
| Gambell Water System | 669 | 0.71 ppb |
| Stebbins City Water Supply | 590 | 2.5 ppb |
| Shishmaref Water System | 572 | 0.27 ppb |
| Brevig Mission Water System | 442 | 1.9 ppb |
| Elim Water Supply | 320 | 1.9 ppb |
| Quality Services, Llc Water Delivery | 300 | - |
| Bering St Sd - Teller Sc/Wash | 295 | 9 ppb |
Next steps for St. Michael, AK
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; St. Michael, AK 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 St. Michael 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.