Charleston Pws, MO
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.61 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.
Who runs the water here
Charleston Pws serves about 5,900 people through 1,450 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 groundwater, in Mississippi County, Missouri. EPA system ID: MO4010160; phone on file: 573-683-3325. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2022 (3.18 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Charleston Pws is 3.18 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.61 ppb |
| 2022 | 3.18 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.18 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.18 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.35 ppb |
| 2018 | 2.35 ppb |
| 2018 | 2.35 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.89 ppb |
How Charleston Pws compares
Of the 1,674 Missouri systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.04 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 74 have gone over at some point. Charleston Pws's 2.61 ppb sits at the 79th percentile in Missouri and the 79th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
5 other systems share Mississippi County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Charleston Pws. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi County Pwsd 1 | 3,000 | 5.94 ppb |
| East Prairie Pws | 2,696 | 4.32 ppb |
| Bertrand Pws | 733 | 5.36 ppb |
| Wyatt Pws | 319 | 0 (not detected) |
| Anniston Pws | 175 | 0.99 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Charleston, MO 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 Charleston Pws 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.