Unh/Durham Water Sys, NH
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (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. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
Who runs the water here
Unh/Durham Water Sys serves about 16,000 people through 1,250 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by the state and draws surface water, in Strafford County, New Hampshire. EPA system ID: NH0691010. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Unh/Durham Water Sys's lead record
Against the period ending 2023 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Unh/Durham Water Sys is 5 ppb across 9 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 5 ppb |
| 2016 | 0 (not detected) |
Against other New Hampshire systems
Of the 124 New Hampshire systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 16 ppb; 62 are over 15 ppb right now and 64 have gone over at some point. Unh/Durham Water Sys's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 17th percentile in New Hampshire and the 38th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Nearby utilities
46 other systems share Strafford County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Unh/Durham Water Sys. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Dover Water Dept | 29,000 | 1 ppb |
| Rochester Water Dept | 25,000 | 2 ppb |
| Somersworth Water Works | 12,200 | 0 (not detected) |
| Farmington Water Dept | 3,250 | - |
| Rollinsford Water Sewer Dist | 1,688 | 43 ppb |
| Milton Water Dist | 800 | - |
| Pineland Park | 425 | - |
| Emerald Acres | 250 | - |
| Sunrise Estates | 235 | - |
| Swains Lake Village Water | 227 | - |
Next steps for Durham, NH
Look up your address in Unh/Durham Water Sys's service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Unh/Durham Water Sys 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. Small systems behave differently: why small systems go over more often.