Windom, MN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 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.
Who runs the water here
Windom serves about 4,646 people through 2,111 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 Cottonwood County, Minnesota. EPA system ID: MN1170006; phone on file: 5078316129. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2021 (3 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Windom is 3 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 ppb |
| 2021 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2019 | 2 ppb |
| 2018 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 966 Minnesota systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 7 are over 15 ppb right now and 48 have gone over at some point. Windom's 3 ppb sits at the 85th percentile in Minnesota and the 82nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Cottonwood County
8 other systems share Cottonwood County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Windom. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Red Rock Rural Water System | 5,840 | 2 ppb |
| Mountain Lake | 2,018 | 0 (not detected) |
| Westbrook | 785 | 11 ppb |
| Jeffers | 369 | 0 (not detected) |
| Storden | 215 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bingham Lake | 128 | 3 ppb |
| Delft | 58 | 4 ppb |
| Neuhof Hutterian Brethren | 55 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Windom, MN 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 Windom whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1470 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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.