Tularosa Water System, NM
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.9 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
Tularosa Water System serves about 3,485 people through 1,310 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 Otero County, New Mexico. EPA system ID: NM3514019; phone on file: 575-921-5458. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2023 (1.9 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Tularosa Water System is 1.9 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2023 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2020 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 1 ppb |
How Tularosa Water System compares
Of the 504 New Mexico systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 14 are over 15 ppb right now and 46 have gone over at some point. Tularosa Water System's 1.9 ppb sits at the 56th percentile in New Mexico and the 69th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
35 other systems share Otero County; 20 of them have a higher latest lead result than Tularosa Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Alamogordo Domestic Water System | 35,301 | 2 ppb |
| Holloman Air Force Base | 13,000 | 1.3 ppb |
| Cloudcroft Water System | 2,865 | 2.6 ppb |
| Timberon W And Sd | 2,698 | 3.1 ppb |
| La Luz Mdwca | 1,917 | 3.9 ppb |
| Twin Forks Mdwca | 1,274 | 3.6 ppb |
| Cloud Country West Water System | 684 | 1.5 ppb |
| Boles Acres Water System | 657 | 0 (not detected) |
| Eileen Acres Mdwca | 457 | - |
| Robinhood Water Users Association | 426 | 2.6 ppb |
Next steps for Tularosa, NM
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Tularosa, NM 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 Tularosa 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.