Pella Water Works Department, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.7 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 Pella Water Works Department
Pella Water Works Department serves about 11,052 people through 4,086 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Marion County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA6368033; phone on file: 641-628-2464. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Pella Water Works Department's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Pella Water Works Department is 1.1 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.7 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 1.1 ppb |
| 2016 | 1 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. Pella Water Works Department's 0.7 ppb sits at the 36th percentile in Iowa and the 47th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
12 other systems share Marion County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Pella Water Works Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Knoxville Water Works | 8,400 | 7.8 ppb |
| Marion Co. Rural Water District | 5,687 | 1.9 ppb |
| Pleasantville Water Works | 1,676 | 0 (not detected) |
| Melcher-Dallas Water Supply | 1,213 | 1.4 ppb |
| Irua - Pershing Utilities | 488 | 1.5 ppb |
| Bussey Water Supply | 427 | 1.4 ppb |
| Wheel Estates Mhc | 315 | 2.2 ppb |
| Colonial Terrace Mhp Llc | 250 | 4 ppb |
| Sunrise Mill | 237 | 0 (not detected) |
| Marion Co Rwd (Harvey) | 236 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Pella, 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 Pella Water Works Department 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.