Heath Water System, AL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.7 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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
Heath Water System serves about 450 people through 150 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Covington County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0000368. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Heath Water System's lead record
That is down 1.4 ppb from 3.1 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Heath Water System is 5 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2023 | 3.1 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 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. Heath Water System's 1.7 ppb sits at the 81st percentile in Alabama and the 66th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Covington County
9 other systems share Covington County; 6 of them have a higher latest lead result than Heath Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Andalusia, Utilities Board Of | 15,251 | 2.9 ppb |
| Covington County Water Authority | 13,224 | 2.2 ppb |
| Opp Utilities Board | 10,266 | 3.3 ppb |
| Florala Water Works & Sewer Board | 3,834 | 0.54 ppb |
| River Falls Water System | 1,050 | 1.8 ppb |
| Red Level Water Works | 855 | 3.5 ppb |
| Gantt Water System | 801 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lockhart Water Works | 726 | 2.5 ppb |
| Sanford Water System | 498 | 0.8 ppb |
Next steps for Andalusia, AL
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Andalusia, 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 Heath Water System 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.