Valley Head Water Works Board, AL
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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
Valley Head Water Works Board serves about 3,075 people through 1,025 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Dekalb County, Alabama. EPA system ID: AL0000523; phone on file: 256-418-0106. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2020 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Valley Head Water Works Board is 1 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 1 ppb |
How Valley Head Water Works Board compares
Of the 542 Alabama systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 1 are over 15 ppb right now and 11 have gone over at some point. Valley Head Water Works Board's 1 ppb sits at the 66th percentile in Alabama and the 54th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
4 other systems share Dekalb County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Valley Head Water Works Board. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast Alabama Water Sewer And Fpd | 47,070 | 1.34 ppb |
| Fort Payne, The Ww Bd Of The City Of | 25,107 | 0 (not detected) |
| Collinsville Water Works | 3,948 | 0 (not detected) |
| Crossville Water Board | 1,998 | 1.49 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Valley Head, AL 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 Valley Head Water Works Board 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.