Exeter-Merritt Water Coop, IL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.6 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 Exeter-Merritt Water Coop
Exeter-Merritt Water Coop serves about 820 people through 328 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Scott County, Illinois. EPA system ID: IL1710010; phone on file: 217-742-8559. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Exeter-Merritt Water Coop's lead record
Against the period ending 2020 (1.9 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Exeter-Merritt Water Coop is 4.3 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2019 | 4.3 ppb |
| 2016 | 2.8 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,744 Illinois systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 22 are over 15 ppb right now and 152 have gone over at some point. Exeter-Merritt Water Coop's 1.6 ppb sits at the 68th percentile in Illinois and the 65th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
5 other systems share Scott County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Exeter-Merritt Water Coop. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Winchester | 1,589 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bluffs | 748 | 0 (not detected) |
| Scott County Rural Water Co-Op | 493 | 0 (not detected) |
| Alsey-Glasgow Water Commission | 475 | 0 (not detected) |
| Manchester | 297 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Winchester, IL 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 Exeter-Merritt Water Coop 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.