Water systems with lead above 15 ppb

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Latest 90th-percentile lead above 15 ppb (since 2020) · circle size = people served

Lead in drinking water

Utilities test taps in homes most likely to have lead pipes and report the 90th-percentile result. Of 44,187 systems reporting since 2020, 392 had a latest result above EPA’s 15 ppb action level and 1,040 above 10 ppb.

What the number means

If 90% of the sampled homes are at or below 15 ppb, the system meets the action level. Exceeding it triggers corrosion control, public education and lead pipe replacement. EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (2024) lower the action level to 10 ppb from 2027 and require replacing lead service lines.

Your own tap

Lead comes mainly from service lines, solder and fixtures inside buildings, so two neighbors can have very different results. Ask your utility whether your service line is lead (inventories had to be published by October 2024) and test your tap; many utilities offer free kits.

What this is — and isn’t. These are records your water utility and state reported to the EPA, and the EPA’s radon map for your county. They describe the system and the area, not the water from your own tap or the air in your home. For that, read your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report and test: lead and radon tests are inexpensive.