Carter Lake Water District, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 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 Carter Lake Water District
Carter Lake Water District serves about 3,791 people through 1,306 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA7812079; phone on file: 712-216-2539. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
That is up 2.5 ppb from 0.5 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Carter Lake Water District is 3 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 0.5 ppb |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
Where this result ranks
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. Carter Lake Water District's 3 ppb sits at the 77th percentile in Iowa and the 82nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
14 other systems share Pottawattamie County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Carter Lake Water District. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Council Bluffs Water Works | 64,447 | 2 ppb |
| Avoca Water Works | 1,697 | 0 (not detected) |
| Urban Bluffs - North | 1,558 | 2 ppb |
| Oakland Munic Water Utility | 1,524 | 1.3 ppb |
| Treynor Water Department | 1,049 | 5 ppb |
| Neola Light & Water | 906 | 4.4 ppb |
| Lakeside Estates Llc | 823 | 0 (not detected) |
| Crescent Water Supply | 778 | 0 (not detected) |
| Walnut Municipal Utilities | 768 | 0 (not detected) |
| Carson Water Supply | 766 | 1 ppb |
Next steps for Council Bluffs, IA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Council Bluffs, 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 Carter Lake Water District 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.