Hickory-Kerton Wtr Coop, IL
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2026-2028). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
Hickory-Kerton Wtr Coop at a glance
Hickory-Kerton Wtr Coop serves about 2,358 people through 943 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 Schuyler County, Illinois. EPA system ID: IL1695200; phone on file: 217-322-6533. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2025 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Hickory-Kerton Wtr Coop is 17 ppb across 10 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2024 | 1 ppb |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 1 ppb |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 1.1 ppb |
| 2020 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 17 ppb over 15 |
| 2016 | 11 ppb over 10 |
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. Hickory-Kerton Wtr Coop's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 42nd percentile in Illinois and the 31st nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Nearby utilities
4 other systems share Schuyler County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Hickory-Kerton Wtr Coop. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Rushville | 3,375 | 4.1 ppb |
| Camden-Littleton Water Commission | 1,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dhs Rushville Treatment And Detention | 565 | 0 (not detected) |
| Browning | 117 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Rushville, 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 Hickory-Kerton Wtr 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.