Va Medical Center Helena, MT
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 7 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 Va Medical Center Helena
Va Medical Center Helena serves about 1,275 people through 25 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is federally owned and draws surface water, in Lewis And Clark County, Montana. EPA system ID: MT0000246; phone on file: 406-447-7280. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
That is up 5 ppb from 2 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Va Medical Center Helena is 7 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 7 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
How Va Medical Center Helena compares
Of the 753 Montana systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 5 are over 15 ppb right now and 28 have gone over at some point. Va Medical Center Helena's 7 ppb sits at the 96th percentile in Montana and the 95th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
50 other systems share Lewis And Clark County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Va Medical Center Helena. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Helena Water System | 32,091 | 3 ppb |
| East Helena City Of | 2,114 | 1 ppb |
| Eastgate Village Sewer And Water | 2,000 | 1 ppb |
| Helena Leisure Llc | 1,200 | 1 ppb |
| Ten Mile And Pleasant Valley Wua | 750 | 0 (not detected) |
| North Star Pud | 715 | 7 ppb |
| Treasure State Acres Wua | 483 | 2 ppb |
| La Casa Grande Water And Sewer District | 404 | 2 ppb |
| Skyview Water And Sewer Utility | 400 | 2 ppb |
| Golden Estates Homeowners Association | 400 | 5 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Fort Harrison, MT 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 Va Medical Center Helena 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.