Elkader Muni Water Dept, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5.4 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 Elkader Muni Water Dept
Elkader Muni Water Dept serves about 1,219 people through 692 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Clayton County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA2223011; phone on file: 563-245-1194. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
That is up 5.4 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Elkader Muni Water Dept is 5.4 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 5.4 ppb |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 2.6 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. Elkader Muni Water Dept's 5.4 ppb sits at the 90th percentile in Iowa and the 92nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
15 other systems share Clayton County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Elkader Muni Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Guttenberg Water Utility | 1,817 | 1.6 ppb |
| Monona Municipal Water Dept | 1,471 | 3.5 ppb |
| Strawberry Point Water Supply | 1,155 | 2 ppb |
| Edgewood Water Supply | 939 | 3.7 ppb |
| Garnavillo Water Supply | 763 | 2.4 ppb |
| Mcgregor Water Dept | 747 | 9.01 ppb |
| Marquette Water Supply | 429 | 7.4 ppb |
| Luana Water Works | 301 | 0 (not detected) |
| Farmersburg Waterworks | 276 | 1.2 ppb |
| Volga Water Supply | 203 | 1 ppb |
Next steps for Elkader, IA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Elkader, 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 Elkader Muni Water Dept 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.