Poweshiek Water Association, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 0.6 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 Poweshiek Water Association
Poweshiek Water Association serves about 13,920 people through 5,568 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Tama County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA8670701; phone on file: 641-891-7124. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2022 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Poweshiek Water Association is 0.6 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.6 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
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. Poweshiek Water Association's 0.6 ppb sits at the 35th percentile in Iowa and the 45th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Tama County
10 other systems share Tama County; 4 of them have a higher latest lead result than Poweshiek Water Association. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Tama Water Supply | 3,130 | 4.8 ppb |
| Toledo Water Supply | 2,399 | 0 (not detected) |
| Traer Municipal Water Plant | 1,583 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dysart Water Supply | 1,281 | 0 (not detected) |
| Gladbrook Water Supply | 799 | 6 ppb |
| Garwin Water Supply | 481 | 0 (not detected) |
| Chelsea Water Supply | 229 | 2.6 ppb |
| Clutier Water Supply | 213 | 0 (not detected) |
| Montour Water Supply | 203 | 2.2 ppb |
| Elberon Water Supply | 184 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Tama, IA
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Tama, 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 Poweshiek Water Association 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.