Tell City Water Department, IN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.3 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.
Tell City Water Department at a glance
Tell City Water Department serves about 9,315 people through 3,450 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Perry County, Indiana. EPA system ID: IN5262004; phone on file: 812-548-4044. 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 (1.08 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Tell City Water Department is 2 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.3 ppb |
| 2023 | 1.08 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
Against other Indiana systems
Of the 687 Indiana systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.31 ppb; 6 are over 15 ppb right now and 36 have gone over at some point. Tell City Water Department's 1.3 ppb sits at the 50th percentile in Indiana and the 61st nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
5 other systems share Perry County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Tell City Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| And-Tro Water Authority - District 1 | 2,833 | 1.15 ppb |
| And-Tro Water Authority - District 2 | 1,798 | 1.16 ppb |
| Cannelton Utilities | 1,658 | 0 (not detected) |
| Troy Water Utility | 1,223 | 0 (not detected) |
| Troy Township Water Association | 700 | 2.75 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Tell City, IN 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 Tell City Water Department 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.