Northwest St. Clair Water System, AL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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
Northwest St. Clair Water System serves about 3,039 people through 1,013 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 St. Clair County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0001202. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Lead results over time
That is down 2 ppb from 3 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Northwest St. Clair Water System is 3 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 ppb |
| 2023 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2017 | 1 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. Northwest St. Clair Water System's 1 ppb sits at the 65th percentile in Alabama and the 54th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
15 other systems share St. Clair County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Northwest St. Clair Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Odenville, Utillities Bd. Of The Town Of | 26,022 | 2 ppb |
| Pell City, City Of | 17,586 | 1 ppb |
| Margaret, The Wwb Of The Town Of | 8,070 | 2 ppb |
| New London Water & Fp Authority | 6,843 | 0 (not detected) |
| Springville, City Of | 6,468 | 0 (not detected) |
| Wattsville Water Authority | 5,097 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cook Springs Water Authority | 4,569 | 0 (not detected) |
| Ashville, City Of | 4,107 | 4 ppb |
| Riverside, City Of | 3,864 | 0 (not detected) |
| Ragland, The Wwb Of The Town Of | 3,243 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Steele, AL
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Steele, 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 Northwest St. Clair Water System 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.