Vesper Waterworks, WI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.1 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2023). 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.
Who runs the water here
Vesper Waterworks serves about 512 people through 250 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Wood County, Wisconsin. EPA system ID: WI7720134. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Every lead result on file
That is down 2.6 ppb from 3.7 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Vesper Waterworks is 4.3 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.1 ppb |
| 2020 | 3.7 ppb |
| 2017 | 4.3 ppb |
Against other Wisconsin systems
Of the 947 Wisconsin systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.33 ppb; 6 are over 15 ppb right now and 71 have gone over at some point. Vesper Waterworks's 1.1 ppb sits at the 44th percentile in Wisconsin and the 57th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
12 other systems share Wood County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Vesper Waterworks. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Wis Rapids Water Works & Lighting Comm | 20,000 | 8.3 ppb |
| Marshfield Utilities | 18,815 | 8.2 ppb |
| Nekoosa Waterworks | 2,394 | 0 (not detected) |
| Port Edwards Water Utility | 1,866 | 2.6 ppb |
| Biron Water Utility | 879 | 0.65 ppb |
| Pittsville Waterworks | 800 | 2.06 ppb |
| Milladore Waterworks | 280 | 0.49 ppb |
| Pirco Mhp | 97 | 3.77 ppb |
| Hickory Shade | 55 | 0.45 ppb |
| Prairie Meadow Estates 1 | 50 | 1.08 ppb |
Next steps for Vesper, WI
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Vesper, WI 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 Vesper Waterworks 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.