North Clarke Water Authority, AL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.1 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.
Who runs the water here
North Clarke Water Authority serves about 984 people through 327 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 Clarke County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0001771; phone on file: 334-636-6633. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2020 (1.9 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for North Clarke Water Authority is 5 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 2.1 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2017 | 5 ppb |
How North Clarke Water Authority compares
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. North Clarke Water Authority's 2.1 ppb sits at the 86th percentile in Alabama and the 74th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Clarke County
7 other systems share Clarke County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than North Clarke Water Authority. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson Water Works & Sewer Board | 11,715 | 0 (not detected) |
| Thomasville Water Works & Sewer Board | 6,897 | 0 (not detected) |
| Grove Hill Water Works | 5,280 | 4.1 ppb |
| Old Line Water System | 5,145 | 0 (not detected) |
| Coffeeville Utiliies Board | 2,730 | 11 ppb |
| Mid-Central Water Authority | 2,325 | 1 ppb |
| Fulton, Utilities Board Of The Town Of | 534 | 5.7 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Thomasville, 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 North Clarke Water Authority 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.