SOUTH HIGHWAY PWD water quality, IL

At a glance

2 findings worth watching

Detected (no safe amount)

Lead

0.0014 mg/L

Public health experts agree no amount of lead in drinking water is safe. Even low levels can affect children's brain development.

Most recent lead and copper test · See details below
Inventory still in progress

Lead service lines

28 unknown

This utility's lead service line inventory is not yet complete. Federal rules required every system to publish one by October 16, 2024.

From the utility's published inventory · See details below
This utility fluoridates

Fluoride

Added

CDC's My Water's Fluoride listing reports this system adjusts fluoride to the recommended level, or buys water from a system that does.

Per CDC My Water's Fluoride · See details below

Past 5 years: 11 health-based violations on file, all marked Resolved or Archived. See compliance history below.

Risk classification follows EPA's published values for safe drinking water, with caution and concern bands reviewed by a clinician. Past resolved violations do not influence this card. See methodology.

Lead service line inventory

Service line inventory still in progress

South Highway PWD (PWS) reports 0 confirmed lead service lines, 1,979 non-lead, 28 unknown (total 2,007) in its Illinois EPA Service Line Material Inventory (reporting year 2022). EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions treat unknown and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines as lead for notification and replacement scheduling until verified.

0 confirmed lead service lines
0 galvanized requiring replacement (LCRI treats these as lead)
28 unknown (1.4% of total)
1,979 confirmed non-lead (98.6%)
2,007 total service lines in the system

What to do if your service line might be lead

Ask your utility to check the service-line classification for your specific address. Many utilities provide a public address-lookup tool linked from the inventory page.
Get on the replacement queue. Under the LCRI, utilities must replace all lead and galvanized-requiring- replacement lines within 10 years (clock generally starts November 2027). Some prioritize requests.
Until the line is replaced: flush the tap 30 seconds after long stagnation, use cold water for drinking and cooking, and consider an NSF/ANSI 53 lead-rated tap filter.
Talk to your clinician about a blood lead test for anyone in the home, especially a pregnant person or a child under 6. Lead in drinking water guide.

Inventory data sourced from South Highway PWD (PWS) (reporting date April 14, 2023; retrieved May 24, 2026 ; curator confidence: high ). Confirmed against the original source automatically each month; see methodology.

Lead and copper test results

The most recent measurement per contaminant from EPA's Lead and Copper Rule sampling.

Why only lead and copper, and not arsenic, nitrate, or others?

EPA's bulk SDWIS download is the only nationwide per-system sample data they publish, and it only includes the Lead and Copper Rule table. Values for other regulated contaminants (TTHMs, nitrate, arsenic, etc.) appear on this page only when they trigger a violation. For the full per-system contaminant suite, see the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report (link further down the page).

Most recent measurements per contaminant (Lead and Copper Rule) . Sorted by risk: concern first, then caution, then unrated, then safe.
Contaminant	Most recent	Date	Risk
Lead PB90	0.0014 mg/L	December 31, 2023	Caution Lead has no safe level (MCLG=0). LCR action level is 0.015 mg/L for the 90th-percentile sample; the LCRI (Oct 2024) lowers the action level to 0.010 mg/L effective Nov 2027. Caution at any detection above LOD; concern anchored to the future LCRI value (0.010 mg/L) for forward consistency. Learn more about Lead. Source.

Data from EPA SDWIS (Lead and Copper Rule sample table) , last refreshed May 24, 2026.

PFAS and emerging contaminants

This system was tested 120 times under EPA's latest PFAS monitoring program; 0 of the 30 chemicals tested were detected.

What is this testing program?

EPA's fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule cycle (UCMR 5, 2023 to 2025) required every public water system serving over 3,300 people to test for 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) plus lithium; 30 chemicals in total. Most recent detection per chemical shown below.

No detections

All UCMR 5 samples for this system were below the EPA-defined minimum reporting level (MRL) for every tested contaminant. Substances that were tested but not detected are listed below.

Tested but not detected (30 contaminants)

EPA tested for these substances and every sample was below the minimum reporting level. Absence of detection does not mean true zero; it means below the laboratory's quantitation threshold.

Data from EPA UCMR 5 (Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule) , last refreshed May 24, 2026.

Fluoride

Per CDC My Water's Fluoride

SOUTH HIGHWAY PWD adds fluoride to its drinking water.

CDC classifies a system as fluoridated when it adjusts fluoride to the recommended level, or when it buys water from a system that does. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends 0.7 mg/L for community water fluoridation.

Source: CDC My Water's Fluoride, listed under SOUTH HIGHWAY PWD (Jackson County). Verify on CDC's site .

Area context

Jackson County, IL (2020 data)

Community water systems: 18 of 18 add fluoride
Population on fluoridated water: 50,620 of 50,620 (100.0%)

Illinois statewide (2020 data)

Population on fluoridated water: 11,457,094 of 11,640,823 (98.4%)
Community water systems adding fluoride: 1,639 of 1,815

Data from CDC My Water's Fluoride (per-system status) , last refreshed May 19, 2026.

Data from CDC Water Fluoridation Reporting System (state and county aggregates) , last refreshed May 16, 2026.

Recorded contaminant measurements (from violations)

When this system exceeded a regulatory limit and EPA recorded the measured value, that value is shown here. These are not routine sample results: they are the values the violation was triggered on.

Measured values from recorded violations . Most recent first.
Period	Contaminant	Measured	Federal MCL	Status
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	0.99RATIO	—	Health-based
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	0.99RATIO	—	Health-based
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	0.99RATIO	—	Health-based
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	0.99RATIO	—	Health-based
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	0.99RATIO	—	Health-based

Data from EPA SDWIS (violation records) , last refreshed May 24, 2026.

Compliance history

EPA-recorded violations against this system over the last 5 years.

How to read this section

Health-based violations are when a measured limit was exceeded; the measured concentration is shown alongside the EPA federal limit where SDWIS published it. Monitoring and reporting items are paperwork issues (missed sample dates, late filings) that do not themselves indicate unsafe water.

11 resolved health-based violations in the last 5 years

All 11 health-based violations in the last 5 years are marked Resolved or Archived. Past violations do not represent current water quality.

Health-based violations in the last 5 years
Period start	Contaminant	What happened	Measured level	Status
December 1, 2025	Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule	Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)	Not reported	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	Not reported	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	Not reported	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	Not reported	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	Not reported	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	Not reported	Resolved
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	0.990 RATIO	Resolved
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	0.990 RATIO	Resolved
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	0.990 RATIO	Resolved
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	0.990 RATIO	Resolved
April 1, 2024	Carbon, Total	Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	0.990 RATIO	Resolved

4 monitoring and reporting item s (paperwork) · these are not health risks

Monitoring and reporting items in the last 5 years
Period start	Relates to	Item	Status
July 1, 2024	Tthm	Monitoring and Reporting (DBP)	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Tthm	Monitoring and Reporting (DBP)	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Tthm	Monitoring and Reporting (DBP)	Resolved
July 1, 2024	Tthm	Monitoring and Reporting (DBP)	Resolved

7 older violation s (5-10 years ago) · 5 health-based, 2 paperwork , all resolved

Violations 5-10 years ago (7 total)
Period start	Relates to	Item	Measured level	Status
June 1, 2018	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule	Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)	—	Resolved
June 1, 2018	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule	Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)	—	Resolved
June 1, 2018	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule	Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)	—	Resolved
June 1, 2018	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule	Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)	—	Resolved
June 1, 2018	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule	Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)	—	Resolved
July 1, 2017	Consumer Confidence Rule	Consumer Confidence Report Inadequate Reporting	—	Resolved
July 1, 2017	Consumer Confidence Rule	Consumer Confidence Report Inadequate Reporting	—	Resolved

Data from EPA SDWIS (violation records) , last refreshed May 24, 2026.

Where to see every contaminant this utility tested for

EPA's bulk SDWIS dataset gives MyTapWater.us per-system measured values for lead and copper, plus violation records for everything else. To see every regulated contaminant this utility tested for in the past year (TTHMs, HAA5, nitrate, arsenic, fluoride, chromium, etc.) with measured values, read the utility's Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).

Every community water system is required by EPA to publish a CCR annually, by July 1, listing every contaminant they sampled, the measured value, the federal limit, and any health-based exceedances. Most utilities post the report online; some mail it with your bill.

How to find SOUTH HIGHWAY PWD's CCR:

Search the web for "SOUTH HIGHWAY PWD consumer confidence report" . The PDF is usually on the utility's own website.
Or call the utility directly. Their phone number is in the contact section below.

Compare nearby utilities by population served.

CARBONDALE
22k served · CARBONDALE
MURPHYSBORO
10k served · MURPHYSBORO
MURDALE PWD
4,963 served · Jackson County
LAKESIDE PWD
3,065 served · Jackson County
DE SOTO
1,910 served · DE SOTO

Contact this utility

Public administrative contact information for this water system, as filed with the EPA. Use this to ask about your service line, request your home's lead status, or report a water quality issue.

Administrator: COOPER, KERRY
Phone: 618-529-5313
Email: info@southhwywater.com
Mailing address: South Highway Water District
111 Cedar Creek Road
MAKANDA, IL 62958

Where this page's data comes from

Bundle released 2026-Q2, regenerated May 24, 2026. Each section above also shows its own source date so you can tell at a glance how fresh that part of the page is.

EPA SDWIS bulk download — last refreshed May 24, 2026 (system info, violations, lead and copper samples).
EPA UCMR 5 (Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule) — last refreshed May 24, 2026 (PFAS and lithium).
Lead service line inventory — last refreshed May 24, 2026 (from the utility's reported inventory).
CDC My Water's Fluoride — last refreshed May 19, 2026 (per-system Yes/No fluoridation status).
CDC Water Fluoridation Reporting System — last refreshed May 16, 2026 (state and county fluoridation aggregates).

Every value on this page is cross-verified before publication; read our methodology for the verification steps and corrections process.