Avery, CA: a top-two-band grade.

Data: EPA SDWIS

Overview

We track home safety data for 1 ZIP code in Avery, California (population ~265), covering 1 community water system serving approximately 4,841 people region-wide. The EPA snapshots used for this build directly map water systems to 1 of 1 ZIP codes.

The available EPA record reports 0 violations for 1 ZIP code with a reported violation count.

Home Safety Score

Average Home Safety Score for Avery: B (83/100)

Model 4.0.0 uses four measured components across three equally weighted domains. If a required domain is unavailable, no score is published:

Factor	What It Measures
Water Quality	EPA violations and compliance history
PFAS MCL Screen	UCMR 5 testing against the covered federal MCLs
Radon Risk	EPA radon zone classification
Annual AQI	EPA AirData county-year median with at least 90 observed days

Water Sources

Avery water systems draw from: Surface water.

Lead & Copper

• Average of reported 90th-percentile lead results: 0.0150 mg/L (EPA action level: 0.015 mg/L)
• 0 of 1 ZIP code with known status exceed the EPA lead action level

Radon Risk

1 of 1 ZIP records with known zones is in EPA Radon Zone 2.

The EPA recommends testing all homes regardless of radon zone. County radon zones cannot replace an in-home radon test.

Areas with No Violations

All ZIP Codes in Avery

• 95224 [B]

Data Sources

• Water quality: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)
• Lead/copper: EPA Lead and Copper Rule sampling data
• Radon: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Reporting periods vary by source. Missing data is shown as unavailable, not as zero.

Housing Age Profile

Plumbing risk in older housing is tied to the period before 1986, when lead pipes and lead solder were still permitted in new plumbing. Avery's median build year is 1974, and properties from before that year might still contain lead-bearing joints or pipes. Much of that risk sits inside individual properties, which city-level water quality averages don't capture.

1974

Median Year Built

79%

Pre-1986 (lead solder era; lead paint banned 1978)

35%

Pre-1970 (Lead Pipes Risk)

Pre-1970 (35%) 1970–1986 (44%) Post-1986 (21%)

Over half of homes in Avery were built before 1986, when federal law began restricting lead solder in drinking-water plumbing. Older plumbing may leach lead into drinking water, especially with corrosive water chemistry.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS B25034.

Protecting Children from Lead in Avery

79%

Homes Built Before 1986

0.015

mg/L average of reported water-system 90th-percentile lead results (the 0.015 action level applies to each system's result, not to this average)

Why children are most at risk: The CDC states that no safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Children under 6 absorb lead more readily than adults, and even low levels can cause developmental delays, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.

Lead results averaged across Avery ZIP codes reach 10 ppb or more; about 79% of the housing predates 1986.

Sources: EPA Lead and Copper Rule, U.S. Census Bureau ACS, CDC childhood lead poisoning prevention guidelines.