Ely Water Supply, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 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.
Who runs the water here
Ely Water Supply serves about 2,328 people through 853 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 Linn County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA5728018; phone on file: 319-848-4103. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2021 (5 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Ely Water Supply is 5 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 ppb |
| 2021 | 5 ppb |
| 2020 | 4 ppb |
| 2019 | 3 ppb |
| 2019 | 4 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.7 ppb |
Against other Iowa systems
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. Ely Water Supply's 4 ppb sits at the 85th percentile in Iowa and the 88th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
39 other systems share Linn County; 7 of them have a higher latest lead result than Ely Water Supply. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids Water Department | 142,364 | 1.62 ppb |
| Marion Municipal Water Dept | 41,623 | 8.3 ppb |
| Hiawatha Water Dept | 7,183 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mount Vernon Water Supply | 4,527 | 1 ppb |
| Fairfax Water Supply | 2,828 | 2 ppb |
| Center Point Water Supply | 2,579 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lisbon Water Supply | 2,233 | 1.7 ppb |
| Palo Water Supply | 1,407 | 1.6 ppb |
| Central City Water Supply | 1,264 | 3 ppb |
| Springville Water Supply | 1,164 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Ely, IA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Ely, 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 Ely Water Supply 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.