Osceola Rural Water System-South, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.7 ppb (monitoring period 2022-2024). 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
Osceola Rural Water System-South serves about 2,112 people through 845 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Osceola County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA7177701; phone on file: 712-330-8051. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2021 (1.6 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Osceola Rural Water System-South is 2.8 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2018 | 2.8 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. Osceola Rural Water System-South's 1.7 ppb sits at the 55th percentile in Iowa and the 66th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
6 other systems share Osceola County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Osceola Rural Water System-South. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Osceola Rural Water System-North | 7,002 | 4.9 ppb |
| Sibley Public Water Supply | 2,860 | 1 ppb |
| Ashton Municipal Water Department | 456 | 1.6 ppb |
| Ocheyedan Water Works | 439 | 2 ppb |
| Melvin Waterworks | 202 | 4.6 ppb |
| Harris Water Supply | 151 | 2 ppb |
Next steps for May City, IA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; May City, 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 Osceola Rural Water System-South 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.