Otho Water Supply, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 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.
Otho Water Supply at a glance
Otho Water Supply serves about 431 people through 225 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 groundwater, in Webster County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA9464008; phone on file: 515-571-5070. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2021 (2 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Otho Water Supply is 2 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 ppb |
| 2021 | 2 ppb |
| 2018 | 2 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. Otho Water Supply's 1 ppb sits at the 42nd percentile in Iowa and the 53rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Webster County
22 other systems share Webster County; 10 of them have a higher latest lead result than Otho Water Supply. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Dodge Water Supply | 25,874 | 1 ppb |
| Gowrie Muni Utilities Water Dept | 954 | 3 ppb |
| Dayton Municipal Water Supply | 772 | 0 (not detected) |
| Badger Water Supply | 561 | 1 ppb |
| Palace Park Mhc | 426 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lehigh Water Supply | 395 | 0 (not detected) |
| Duncombe Water Supply | 384 | 0 (not detected) |
| Callender Water Supply | 371 | 0 (not detected) |
| Harcourt Water Supply | 265 | 2 ppb |
| Barnum Water Supply | 175 | 10 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Fort Dodge, 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 Otho Water Supply 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.