Novinger Pws, MO
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.79 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). 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.
About Novinger Pws
Novinger Pws serves about 376 people through 193 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Adair County, Missouri. EPA system ID: MO2010587. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Novinger Pws's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (1.21 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Novinger Pws is 3.12 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.79 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.21 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.21 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.88 ppb |
| 2019 | 2.88 ppb |
| 2016 | 3.12 ppb |
| 2016 | 3.12 ppb |
Where this result ranks
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. Novinger Pws's 1.79 ppb sits at the 67th percentile in Missouri and the 67th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
3 other systems share Adair County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Novinger Pws. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Kirksville Pws | 17,566 | 0 (not detected) |
| Adair County Pwsd 1 | 7,500 | 2.41 ppb |
| Brashear Pws | 238 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Novinger, MO 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 Novinger Pws 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.