Town Of North East, MD
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 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 Town Of North East
Town Of North East serves about 8,600 people through 2,709 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Cecil County, Maryland. EPA system ID: MD0070016; phone on file: 410-287-5801. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Town Of North East's lead record
Against the period ending 2020 (2 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Town Of North East is 2 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
Against other Maryland systems
Of the 437 Maryland systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 3 are over 15 ppb right now and 21 have gone over at some point. Town Of North East's 1 ppb sits at the 60th percentile in Maryland and the 55th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Cecil County
31 other systems share Cecil County; 17 of them have a higher latest lead result than Town Of North East. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Town Of Elkton | 15,625 | 0 (not detected) |
| Town Of Perryville | 4,413 | 0 (not detected) |
| Town Of Charlestown | 3,791 | 2 ppb |
| Town Of Rising Sun | 2,200 | 0 (not detected) |
| Perry Point V.A. Medical Center | 2,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Town & Country Mobile Home Park | 950 | 0 (not detected) |
| Town Of Chesapeake City [Formerly South] | 673 | - |
| Crystal Beach Manor/T&C Utility | 500 | 13.3 ppb |
| Town Of Cecilton | 477 | 16 ppb |
| Misty Meadows 1 / Highland Hills M.H.P. | 460 | 1 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; North East, MD 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 Town Of North East 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.