Alton Municipal Water Department, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.87 ppb (monitoring period 2022-2024). 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.
Alton Municipal Water Department at a glance
Alton Municipal Water Department serves about 1,248 people through 515 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 Sioux County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA8403029; phone on file: 712-756-4314. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
That is down 1.12 ppb from 1.99 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Alton Municipal Water Department is 1.99 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.87 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.99 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.36 ppb |
Against other Iowa systems
Of the 1,066 Iowa systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 4 are over 15 ppb right now and 36 have gone over at some point. Alton Municipal Water Department's 0.87 ppb sits at the 38th percentile in Iowa and the 49th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Sioux County
14 other systems share Sioux County; 12 of them have a higher latest lead result than Alton Municipal Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Sioux Center Municipal Water Department | 8,231 | 4.4 ppb |
| Orange City Municipal Water Department | 6,267 | 0 (not detected) |
| Southern Sioux County Rural Water | 5,420 | 2.1 ppb |
| Rock Valley Water Supply | 4,059 | 2 ppb |
| Rural Water System #1 | 3,428 | 1.2 ppb |
| Hawarden Water Supply | 2,700 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hull Water Supply | 2,384 | 1.8 ppb |
| Rock Valley Rural Water District | 2,250 | 2.4 ppb |
| Hospers Municipal Water Dept | 718 | 6.1 ppb |
| Boyden Municipal Water Supply | 709 | 2.2 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Alton, IA 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 Alton Municipal Water Department 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.