Howard Water Coop, MO
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2024-2024). 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.
About Howard Water Coop
Howard Water Coop serves about 138 people through 46 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Ellis County, Missouri. EPA system ID: TX0700054; phone on file: 314-736-4672. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Howard Water Coop's lead record
Against the period ending 2024 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Howard Water Coop is 7.1 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 7.1 ppb |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Against other Missouri systems
Of the 1,674 Missouri systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.04 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 74 have gone over at some point. Howard Water Coop's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 11th percentile in Missouri and the 12th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Other water systems in Ellis County
7 other systems share Ellis County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Howard Water Coop. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Grande Casa | 501 | 2.25 ppb |
| Spanish Grant Subdivision | 444 | 1.6 ppb |
| Red Oak Community Water Service | 321 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lakeview Ranchettes | 309 | 1.92 ppb |
| Lakeview Water System | 216 | 0 (not detected) |
| Chambers Meadow Estate Water | 198 | 3.37 ppb |
| Emerald Forest | 180 | 3.9 ppb |
Your move
Look up your address in Howard Water Coop'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 Howard 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. 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.