University Of Alaska - Fairbanks, AK
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.4 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
University Of Alaska - Fairbanks serves about 6,200 people through 100 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by the state and draws groundwater, in Fairbanks North Star Borough County, Alaska. EPA system ID: AK2310683; phone on file: 907-474-7889. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
University Of Alaska - Fairbanks's lead record
Against the period ending 2021 (2.4 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for University Of Alaska - Fairbanks is 2.4 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.4 ppb |
| 2021 | 2.4 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2019 | 2 ppb |
| 2019 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.06 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.06 ppb |
Against other Alaska systems
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. University Of Alaska - Fairbanks's 2.4 ppb sits at the 66th percentile in Alaska and the 77th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Fairbanks North Star Borough County
22 other systems share Fairbanks North Star Borough County; 6 of them have a higher latest lead result than University Of Alaska - Fairbanks. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Heart Utilities | 78,324 | 2.4 ppb |
| College Utilities Corporation | 27,000 | 1 ppb |
| Ft Wainwright - Main Post | 20,076 | 3.1 ppb |
| Eielson - Air Force Base | 11,870 | 1.2 ppb |
| North Pole Utilities | 4,005 | 0.56 ppb |
| H2o 2u, Dba The Fill | 2,400 | - |
| Valley Water Company | 1,575 | 23 ppb |
| Pioneer Wells At Fox | 880 | 0 (not detected) |
| Pioneer Wells | 600 | 0 (not detected) |
| Salcha Community Watering Point | 508 | 3.3 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Fairbanks, 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 University Of Alaska - Fairbanks 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.