Melcher-Dallas Water Supply, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.4 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.
Melcher-Dallas Water Supply at a glance
Melcher-Dallas Water Supply serves about 1,213 people through 621 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 Marion County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA6300099; phone on file: 641-891-3490. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Melcher-Dallas Water Supply's lead record
Against the period ending 2020 (1.8 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Melcher-Dallas Water Supply is 1.8 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.4 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.8 ppb |
| 2017 | 1.2 ppb |
Against other Iowa systems
Of the 1,066 Iowa systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.4 ppb; 4 are over 15 ppb right now and 36 have gone over at some point. Melcher-Dallas Water Supply's 1.4 ppb sits at the 51st percentile in Iowa and the 62nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
12 other systems share Marion County; 6 of them have a higher latest lead result than Melcher-Dallas Water Supply. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Pella Water Works Department | 11,052 | 0.7 ppb |
| Knoxville Water Works | 8,400 | 7.8 ppb |
| Marion Co. Rural Water District | 5,687 | 1.9 ppb |
| Pleasantville Water Works | 1,676 | 0 (not detected) |
| Irua - Pershing Utilities | 488 | 1.5 ppb |
| Bussey Water Supply | 427 | 1.4 ppb |
| Wheel Estates Mhc | 315 | 2.2 ppb |
| Colonial Terrace Mhp Llc | 250 | 4 ppb |
| Sunrise Mill | 237 | 0 (not detected) |
| Marion Co Rwd (Harvey) | 236 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Melcher Dallas, IA 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 Melcher-Dallas Water Supply 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.