Southern Utilities, TX
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.57 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.
Southern Utilities at a glance
Southern Utilities serves about 69,735 people through 23,245 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Smith County, Texas. EPA system ID: TX2120063; phone on file: 903-566-3511. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Southern Utilities's lead record
That is up 1.57 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Southern Utilities is 1.57 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.57 ppb |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2018 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 4,447 Texas systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.28 ppb; 15 are over 15 ppb right now and 202 have gone over at some point. Southern Utilities's 1.57 ppb sits at the 76th percentile in Texas and the 64th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
35 other systems share Smith County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Southern Utilities. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| City Of Tyler | 107,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lindale Rural Wsc | 14,781 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Whitehouse | 9,571 | 0 (not detected) |
| Walnut Grove Wsc | 8,775 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Lindale | 6,313 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dean Wsc | 5,907 | 0 (not detected) |
| Jackson Wsc | 5,862 | 0 (not detected) |
| Sand Flat Wsc | 4,569 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Bullard | 4,500 | 0 (not detected) |
| Crystal Systems | 3,915 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Tyler, TX 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 Utilities 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.