Whispering Cedars Water Association, NM
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). 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.
About Whispering Cedars Water Association
Whispering Cedars Water Association serves about 425 people through 107 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Mckinley County, New Mexico. EPA system ID: NM3510517; phone on file: 505-870-3690. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
That is down 11 ppb from 13 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Whispering Cedars Water Association is 13 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 ppb |
| 2025 | 13 ppb over 10 |
| 2025 | 4 ppb |
| 2022 | 1 ppb |
| 2021 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 4 ppb |
Against other New Mexico systems
Of the 504 New Mexico systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 14 are over 15 ppb right now and 46 have gone over at some point. Whispering Cedars Water Association's 2 ppb sits at the 62nd percentile in New Mexico and the 71st nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Mckinley County
14 other systems share Mckinley County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Whispering Cedars Water Association. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Gallup Water System | 20,880 | 0 (not detected) |
| Gamerco Water & Sanitation | 1,744 | 8.3 ppb |
| Thoreau Water & Sanitation District | 1,173 | 1.2 ppb |
| Ramah Water & Sanitation District | 517 | 1.5 ppb |
| Yah Ta Hey W & Sd | 435 | 1.4 ppb |
| White Cliffs Mdwua | 323 | 2 ppb |
| Top Of The World Water Association Corp | 177 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bluewater Lake Mdwca | 135 | 5.3 ppb |
| Coal Basin Dwua | 116 | 10 ppb |
| D & S Trailer Ranch | 109 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Jamestown, NM
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Jamestown, NM 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 Whispering Cedars Water Association 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.