Southern Sioux County Rural Water, IA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.1 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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
Southern Sioux County Rural Water serves about 5,420 people through 2,168 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Sioux County, Iowa. EPA system ID: IA8400733; phone on file: 712-278-2212. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2023 (2.4 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Southern Sioux County Rural Water is 6.3 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.1 ppb |
| 2023 | 2.4 ppb |
| 2020 | 6.3 ppb |
| 2017 | 4.5 ppb |
How Southern Sioux County Rural Water compares
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. Southern Sioux County Rural Water's 2.1 ppb sits at the 68th percentile in Iowa and the 74th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Sioux County
14 other systems share Sioux County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Southern Sioux County Rural Water. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Sioux Center Municipal Water Department | 8,231 | 4.4 ppb |
| Orange City Municipal Water Department | 6,267 | 0 (not detected) |
| Rock Valley Water Supply | 4,059 | 2 ppb |
| Rural Water System #1 | 3,428 | 1.2 ppb |
| Hawarden Water Supply | 2,700 | 0 (not detected) |
| Hull Water Supply | 2,384 | 1.8 ppb |
| Rock Valley Rural Water District | 2,250 | 2.4 ppb |
| Alton Municipal Water Department | 1,248 | 0.87 ppb |
| Hospers Municipal Water Dept | 718 | 6.1 ppb |
| Boyden Municipal Water Supply | 709 | 2.2 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Ireton, 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 Southern Sioux County Rural Water 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.