Willis and Magnolia's 2025 Water Reports: What the E. coli and Lead Results Mean

If you opened your 2025 water report in Willis or Magnolia and saw “E. coli” and “violation” on the same page, it’s natural to put your glass down. Take a breath. Here are the questions we’d be asking, answered as plainly as we can.

What happened in Willis?

The City of Willis runs its own wells, and its 2025 report lists four things:

• an E. coli result over the federal limit in September 2025
• two positive coliform samples that July
• a required follow-up assessment, which is the city checking its own system to find out why
• a public notice that didn’t go out when it should have

On the lead side, Willis looks good. Its overall lead number was 0.699 ppb, far under the action level of 15, and its service line inventory found no lead lines. It does list some galvanized lines marked for replacement. More on our Willis page.

And in Magnolia?

Magnolia serves about 11,034 people from five Evangeline wells, plus a connection to Grand Oaks MUD. Its 2025 report lists:

• one sample positive for E. coli in June 2025, with the routine and repeat samples both positive for coliform
• one home’s lead sample over the action level, while the system’s overall number was 0.613 ppb, well under it
• missed monitoring and reporting deadlines: lead and copper tap and water-quality monitoring, chlorine monitoring, and a water report that was inadequate or late

More on our Magnolia page.

What’s the difference between coliform and E. coli?

Coliform is a big family of bacteria that live all over the environment. Most of them won’t hurt you. Water systems test for them as a warning light: if they show up, something may be getting into the water that shouldn’t, and the system has to dig further.

E. coli is one member of that family, and it comes from human or animal waste. That’s why a positive E. coli result gets taken more seriously, and why its federal limit (the “maximum contaminant level,” or MCL) is strict.

One Magnolia home was over the lead limit. Should I worry?

Here’s how lead testing works. Cities sample taps in a set of homes and look at the 90th percentile, the overall number. The action level of 15 ppb applies to that overall number, not to every glass of water. If it goes over, the city has to take further steps.

So one home over while the overall number stays low usually points at that home’s plumbing, not the water supply. Lead in tap water generally comes from the pipes and fixtures in or leading to a house. If your home is older, or you’d just like to know, test your own tap.

Does a “monitoring violation” mean something was in the water?

No. It means a required test or report didn’t happen on time. It’s a missed step, and the city should fix it, but by itself it doesn’t say anything was found.

Should I stop drinking the water?

That’s the city’s call to make, not ours, and they’ll make it through boil-water notices. The city owns the wells, pipes and treatment, and fixing the system is its job. The most useful thing you can do today is make sure the city has your current phone number and email so a notice actually reaches you, and then follow it when one comes.

I’d still like my own layer of protection. What makes sense?

Fair enough. Match the fix to the worry:

The filter ahead of a UV unit catches sediment so the light can do its job on bacteria as water comes into the house. For lead, check the product listing for lead reduction specifically, not just a general rating. And if your water tastes off or changes, that’s a good reason to test, too.

If you’d like help sorting out which of these fits your house, our whole-home filtration page is a good place to start. We’ll tell you if you don’t need it.