Central Alabama Water, AL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.2 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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.
Central Alabama Water at a glance
Central Alabama Water serves about 653,322 people through 217,774 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Jefferson County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0000738; phone on file: 205-244-4000. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2023 (1.76 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Central Alabama Water is 1.76 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2023 | 1.76 ppb |
| 2023 | 1.76 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.46 ppb |
| 2019 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.3 ppb |
How Central Alabama Water compares
Of the 542 Alabama systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 1 are over 15 ppb right now and 11 have gone over at some point. Central Alabama Water's 1.2 ppb sits at the 74th percentile in Alabama and the 59th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
11 other systems share Jefferson County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Central Alabama Water. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Bessemer Water Service | 86,091 | 1 ppb |
| Warrior River Water Authority | 38,700 | 0 (not detected) |
| Trussville, Ub Of The City Of | 36,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Leeds Water Works Board | 21,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Irondale Water System | 10,098 | 1 ppb |
| Graysville Water Board | 9,288 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mulga Water Department | 5,991 | 1 ppb |
| West Jefferson Water System, Town Of | 3,243 | 0 (not detected) |
| Brookside Water Works | 2,865 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mpt Operating Partnership, L.P. | 250 | - |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Birmingham, AL 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 Central Alabama Water 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.