Cottonwood, Town Of, AL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.7 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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 Cottonwood, Town Of
Cottonwood, Town Of serves about 3,570 people through 1,180 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 Houston County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0000677; phone on file: 334-691-2671. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Cottonwood, Town Of's lead record
That is up 1.7 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Cottonwood, Town Of is 5 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 5 ppb |
Against other Alabama systems
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. Cottonwood, Town Of's 1.7 ppb sits at the 81st percentile in Alabama and the 66th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
10 other systems share Houston County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Cottonwood, Town Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Dothan Utilities, City Of | 97,146 | 3.2 ppb |
| Taylor, City Of | 9,339 | 7.3 ppb |
| Houston County Water Authority | 4,902 | 1.1 ppb |
| Ashford Water Works, City Of | 3,816 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cowarts Water System, Town Of | 2,469 | 1.2 ppb |
| Kinsey Water System | 2,010 | 1.3 ppb |
| Webb Water System | 1,521 | 2.7 ppb |
| Columbia Water Works | 1,179 | 1 ppb |
| Avon Water System | 495 | 0.7 ppb |
| Gordon, Town Of | 414 | 11.8 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cottonwood, 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 Cottonwood, Town Of 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.