Southwest Covington W/A, MS
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.5 ppb (monitoring period 2022-2024). 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 Southwest Covington W/A
Southwest Covington W/A serves about 3,601 people through 1,364 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is under mixed public and private ownership and draws groundwater, in Covington County, Mississippi. EPA system ID: MS0160009; phone on file: 601-722-4447. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Southwest Covington W/A's lead record
That is down 2.2 ppb from 4.7 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Southwest Covington W/A is 4.7 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.5 ppb |
| 2021 | 4.7 ppb |
| 2018 | 3.5 ppb |
| 2016 | 2.5 ppb |
Against other Mississippi systems
Of the 973 Mississippi systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 9 are over 15 ppb right now and 44 have gone over at some point. Southwest Covington W/A's 2.5 ppb sits at the 85th percentile in Mississippi and the 78th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
7 other systems share Covington County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Southwest Covington W/A. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| City Of Collins | 2,921 | 0 (not detected) |
| North Covington W/A-South | 2,326 | 2.1 ppb |
| Willow Grove Water Assn | 2,284 | 2.8 ppb |
| North Covington W/A-North | 1,259 | 1 ppb |
| Town Of Mount Olive | 1,032 | 2 ppb |
| Cold Springs Water Association | 589 | 1.4 ppb |
| Town Of Seminary | 317 | 1 ppb |
Next steps for Seminary, MS
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Seminary, MS 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 Southwest Covington W/A 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.