Bernard Water System, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.03 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.
About Bernard Water System
Bernard Water System serves about 114 people through 65 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Dubuque County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA3113001; phone on file: 563-590-9229. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2021 (0.4 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bernard Water System is 1.03 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.03 ppb |
| 2021 | 0.4 ppb |
| 2018 | 1 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. Bernard Water System's 1.03 ppb sits at the 45th percentile in Iowa and the 56th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
29 other systems share Dubuque County; 13 of them have a higher latest lead result than Bernard Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Dubuque Water Works | 59,667 | 5 ppb |
| Asbury Municipal Water System | 5,943 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dyersville Municipal Water Co | 4,477 | 1.7 ppb |
| Cascade Municipal Water Supply | 2,386 | 0 (not detected) |
| Peosta Water Supply | 2,278 | 0.5 ppb |
| Epworth Water Supply | 2,023 | 5.75 ppb |
| Farley Water Supply | 1,766 | 1.3 ppb |
| Alpine Park | 932 | 4.6 ppb |
| Table Mound Park | 455 | 0 (not detected) |
| New Vienna Water Supply | 382 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Bernard, IA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Bernard, 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 Bernard Water System 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.