Athens, MI
No lead results on file with EPA
Latest 90th-percentile lead: no result on file. The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. EPA's database has no Lead and Copper Rule results for this system. Without them there is nothing to go on, so a tap test is the only way to know.
Who runs the water here
Athens serves about 956 people through 386 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 Calhoun County, Michigan. EPA system ID: MI0000260; phone on file: 269-317-7953. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Nearby utilities
16 other systems share Calhoun County. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Battle Creek - Verona System | 43,975 | 2 ppb |
| Albion | 9,144 | 1 ppb |
| Marshall | 7,088 | 2 ppb |
| Pennfield Township | 3,916 | 1.6 ppb |
| Springfield | 3,833 | 0 (not detected) |
| Emmett Township | 2,550 | 0 (not detected) |
| Homer | 1,668 | - |
| Bedford Hills | 850 | 0 (not detected) |
| Tekonsha | 722 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hickory Hills | 708 | 2.13 ppb |
Next steps for Athens, MI
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Athens, MI 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 Athens whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1390 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.