Fosters-Ralph Water Authority, AL
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2023-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
Who runs the water here
Fosters-Ralph Water Authority serves about 6,015 people through 2,005 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 surface water, in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0001302; phone on file: 205-210-3167. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Fosters-Ralph Water Authority's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Fosters-Ralph Water Authority is 5 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 5 ppb |
Where this result ranks
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. Fosters-Ralph Water Authority's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 35th percentile in Alabama and the 35th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Other water systems in Tuscaloosa County
9 other systems share Tuscaloosa County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Fosters-Ralph Water Authority. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Tuscaloosa Water & Sewer | 166,524 | 0 (not detected) |
| Northport Water Works, City Of | 40,551 | 0 (not detected) |
| Carrolls Creek, Water Authority | 16,248 | 0 (not detected) |
| Citizens Water Service, Inc. | 15,096 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mitchell Water System Inc | 8,730 | 0 (not detected) |
| Englewood-Hulls Water System, Inc. | 7,077 | 0 (not detected) |
| Coker Water Authority | 5,118 | 1.2 ppb |
| Coaling Water Authority | 3,747 | 2.8 ppb |
| Buhl Elrod & Holman Water Authority | 3,648 | 1.1 ppb |
Your move
Look up your address in Fosters-Ralph Water Authority's service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Fosters-Ralph Water Authority 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. Small systems behave differently: why small systems go over more often.