Wales Water System, AK
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.7 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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
Wales Water System serves about 173 people through 6 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a Native American tribe and draws groundwater, in Nome Census Area County, Alaska. EPA system ID: AK2340191; phone on file: 907-664-3501. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Wales Water System's lead record
Against the period ending 2025 (1.7 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Wales Water System is 1.95 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.09 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.09 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.95 ppb |
How Wales Water System compares
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. Wales Water System's 1.7 ppb sits at the 52nd percentile in Alaska and the 66th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
16 other systems share Nome Census Area County; 9 of them have a higher latest lead result than Wales Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Nome Joint Utility System | 3,920 | 2.41 ppb |
| Savoonga Water Supply | 802 | 2.6 ppb |
| Unalakleet City Water Supply | 757 | 1.4 ppb |
| Gambell Water System | 669 | 0.71 ppb |
| Stebbins City Water Supply | 590 | 2.5 ppb |
| Shishmaref Water System | 572 | 0.27 ppb |
| St. Michael Water System | 495 | 3.2 ppb |
| Brevig Mission Water System | 442 | 1.9 ppb |
| Elim Water Supply | 320 | 1.9 ppb |
| Quality Services, Llc Water Delivery | 300 | - |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Wales, 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 Wales 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.