Ponderosa Utilities Inc., IA
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2026-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
Who runs the water here
Ponderosa Utilities Inc. serves about 1,750 people through 680 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Poweshiek County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA7950300; phone on file: 641-623-5675. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
That is down 5.8 ppb from 5.8 ppb in the period ending 2024. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Ponderosa Utilities Inc. is 5.8 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2024 | 5.8 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.3 ppb |
| 2018 | 1.5 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. Ponderosa Utilities Inc.'s reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 27th percentile in Iowa and the 30th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Nearby utilities
7 other systems share Poweshiek County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Ponderosa Utilities Inc.. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Grinnell Water Department | 9,564 | 4 ppb |
| Montezuma Muni Water Supply | 1,545 | 6.24 ppb |
| Brooklyn Water Department | 1,505 | 0 (not detected) |
| Grinnell Mhp Mhc | 313 | 2.2 ppb |
| Malcom Water Supply | 270 | 0 (not detected) |
| Deep River Water Supply | 249 | 0 (not detected) |
| Barnes City Water Supply | 156 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Look up your address in Ponderosa Utilities Inc.'s service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Ponderosa Utilities Inc. 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. Small systems behave differently: why small systems go over more often.