Ware Water Dept, MA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4.7 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.
Ware Water Dept at a glance
Ware Water Dept serves about 10,066 people through 2,482 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. EPA system ID: MA1309000; phone on file: 4139679620. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2020 (4.7 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Ware Water Dept is 4.7 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 4.7 ppb |
| 2020 | 4.7 ppb |
| 2017 | 4 ppb |
Against other Massachusetts systems
Of the 535 Massachusetts systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.7 ppb; 13 are over 15 ppb right now and 66 have gone over at some point. Ware Water Dept's 4.7 ppb sits at the 83rd percentile in Massachusetts and the 90th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
27 other systems share Hampshire County; 7 of them have a higher latest lead result than Ware Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Amherst Dpw Water Division | 39,263 | 8 ppb |
| Northampton Water Division | 29,571 | 1.2 ppb |
| Easthampton Water Dept | 16,211 | 2.5 ppb |
| South Hadley Fd #1 (Mwra) | 14,800 | 4 ppb |
| South Hadley Fire District #2 Water Dept | 6,200 | 5.3 ppb |
| Southampton Water Dept | 4,853 | 4.1 ppb |
| Hadley Dpw Water Division | 4,819 | 4.6 ppb |
| Belchertown Water District | 3,253 | 3 ppb |
| Hatfield Water Dept | 3,164 | 23.1 ppb |
| Huntington Water Dept | 2,180 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Ware, MA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Ware, MA 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 Ware Water Dept 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.