Mulga Water Department, AL
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). 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.
Who runs the water here
Mulga Water Department serves about 5,991 people through 1,997 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 Jefferson County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0000755; phone on file: 205-781-0645. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
That is down 16 ppb from 17 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Mulga Water Department is 17 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 ppb |
| 2025 | 17 ppb over 15 |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 1.5 ppb |
| 2016 | 5 ppb |
Against other Alabama systems
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. Mulga Water Department's 1 ppb sits at the 67th percentile in Alabama and the 55th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
11 other systems share Jefferson County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Mulga Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Central Alabama Water | 653,322 | 1.2 ppb |
| Bessemer Water Service | 86,091 | 1 ppb |
| Warrior River Water Authority | 38,700 | 0 (not detected) |
| Trussville, Ub Of The City Of | 36,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Leeds Water Works Board | 21,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Irondale Water System | 10,098 | 1 ppb |
| Graysville Water Board | 9,288 | 0 (not detected) |
| West Jefferson Water System, Town Of | 3,243 | 0 (not detected) |
| Brookside Water Works | 2,865 | 0 (not detected) |
| Mpt Operating Partnership, L.P. | 250 | - |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Mulga, 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 Mulga Water Department 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. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.