Loading water data...
Every US water system now has to inventory the pipe between each water main and each building. This page ranks all 50 states and DC and the largest utilities by how many of those service lines are lead, based on the Q2 2026 EPA inventory covering 66,414 systems.
US water systems have reported 2,188,227 lead service lines and 1,002,773 galvanized lines requiring replacement to EPA as of Q2 2026 — 3.1% of the 102,595,243 lines inventoried. Another 22,450,443 lines (22%) are still of unknown material, so the true lead count is higher. Illinois reports the most lead lines (615,181).
A service line is the pipe that carries water from the water main in the street to a building. Before lead pipe was banned in 1986, many service lines were made of lead, and they are the largest single source of lead in US drinking water because the water sits in direct contact with the metal. Ownership is usually split between the utility (main to property line) and the homeowner (property line to house).
Your utility must publish its service line inventory and notify customers with lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement, or unknown lines. Find your state on this page, then your utility, and check its inventory map or call the number on your water bill. You can also scratch the pipe where it enters your home: lead is soft, dull gray and does not attract a magnet; scratched lead turns shiny silver.
The utility has not yet verified what the pipe is made of. 22,450,443 lines (22% of the national total) are still unknown as of Q2 2026. Under EPA rules unknown lines must be investigated and, if lead, replaced — treat an unknown line as a possible lead line until it is confirmed.
The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (finalized October 2024) require water systems to replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement service lines within 10 years, with the replacement clock starting in 2027. Systems with very high lead-line counts can get deferred deadlines, so replacement in cities like Chicago may take longer.
Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead reduction (pitcher, faucet-mount, under-sink or reverse osmosis) for drinking and cooking water, run cold water for 30 seconds to 2 minutes after it has sat in the pipes, never use hot tap water for drinking or formula, and get a certified lab test to see your actual level. Ask your utility about its replacement schedule and any programs that cover the homeowner-side cost.
102,595,243 service lines inventoried by 66,414 systems (59,755 reporting). Source: EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18).
A certified mail-in lab test shows exactly what's in your water — lead plus dozens of other contaminants — with EPA-grade accuracy. Know your real levels before spending on a filter.
Certified lab · results in days
All 50 states and DC ranked by confirmed lead lines. Click a state for its utilities.
| # | State | Lead lines | % of inventoried | Galvanized (GRR) | Unknown | Systems w/ lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | 615,181 | 16% | 57,081 | 530,644 | 329 |
| 2 | Ohio | 265,123 | 7.3% | 56,390 | 878,816 | 168 |
| 3 | New York | 251,269 | 6.6% | 37,819 | 951,338 | 229 |
| 4 | Michigan | 199,943 | 7.6% | 55,581 | 301,508 | 228 |
| 5 | Indiana | 169,443 | 8.0% | 21,518 | 545,847 | 119 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 146,244 | 10% | 12,594 | 182,821 | 140 |
| 7 | Minnesota | 67,823 | 4.5% | 19,360 | 209,216 | 235 |
| 8 | New Jersey | 67,590 | 2.7% | 67,844 | 861,067 | 90 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 65,295 | 1.7% | 48,443 | 2,057,908 | 173 |
| 10 | Iowa | 55,535 | 4.7% | 12,510 | 180,543 | 294 |
| 11 | Missouri | 32,207 | 1.5% | 38,815 | 895,145 | 132 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | 29,760 | 10% | 1,730 | 55,698 | 12 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 28,562 | 1.5% | 13,175 | 349,972 | 86 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 23,018 | 0.8% | 41,117 | 621,707 | 23 |
| 15 | Nebraska | 22,233 | 3.4% | 26,499 | 88,477 | 122 |
| 16 | Colorado | 18,792 | 1.0% | 2,620 | 141,309 | 21 |
| 17 | Kansas | 17,053 | 1.8% | 60,231 | 199,194 | 145 |
| 18 | District of Columbia | 16,935 | 12% | 225 | 13,428 | 1 |
| 19 | Louisiana | 16,640 | 0.9% | 3,918 | 719,309 | 6 |
| 20 | Alabama | 14,083 | 0.6% | 55,147 | 192,508 | 22 |
| 21 | Florida | 8,406 | 0.1% | 36,282 | 1,666,672 | 51 |
| 22 | South Carolina | 7,999 | 0.4% | 11,251 | 349,307 | 17 |
| 23 | Connecticut | 7,993 | 1.0% | 5,180 | 281,399 | 35 |
| 24 | Kentucky | 5,248 | 0.3% | 22,810 | 424,074 | 26 |
| 25 | North Dakota | 4,963 | 1.8% | 695 | 97,961 | 87 |
| 26 | West Virginia | 4,936 | 0.7% | 3,513 | 238,788 | 29 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | 4,829 | 0.3% | 9,423 | 623,392 | 48 |
| 28 | Mississippi | 4,514 | 0.4% | 19,157 | 161,830 | 34 |
| 29 | Texas | 4,470 | <0.1% | 112,525 | 2,179,373 | 145 |
| 30 | Virginia | 3,623 | 0.2% | 10,233 | 529,683 | 24 |
| 31 | Delaware | 2,691 | 0.8% | 3,605 | 113,365 | 12 |
| 32 | South Dakota | 2,081 | 0.6% | 616 | 96,462 | 61 |
| 33 | Wyoming | 672 | 0.3% | 2,835 | 80,962 | 14 |
| 34 | Idaho | 633 | 0.1% | 2,136 | 96,675 | 10 |
| 35 | Montana | 479 | 0.2% | 2,743 | 65,873 | 36 |
| 36 | North Carolina | 350 | <0.1% | 12,595 | 798,950 | 38 |
| 37 | Georgia | 294 | <0.1% | 50,079 | 630,196 | 14 |
| 38 | Utah | 270 | <0.1% | 628 | 95,151 | 7 |
| 39 | Arkansas | 260 | <0.1% | 11,309 | 477,926 | 7 |
| 40 | Washington | 244 | <0.1% | 6,689 | 220,440 | 25 |
| 41 | New Hampshire | 233 | 0.2% | 2,092 | 121,923 | 4 |
| 42 | Vermont | 129 | 0.1% | 1,782 | 36,284 | 14 |
| 43 | Maryland | 111 | <0.1% | 3,045 | 563,480 | 16 |
| 44 | Maine | 29 | <0.1% | 1,575 | 41,667 | 5 |
| 45 | New Mexico | 25 | <0.1% | 311 | 327,550 | 15 |
| 46 | Arizona | 6 | <0.1% | 2,825 | 714,350 | 2 |
| 47 | Alaska | 0 | 0.0% | 21 | 25,964 | 0 |
| 48 | California | 0 | 0.0% | 12,918 | 600,963 | 0 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 0 | 0.0% | 529 | 34,251 | 0 |
| 50 | Nevada | 0 | 0.0% | 1,094 | 129,041 | 0 |
| 51 | Oregon | 0 | 0.0% | 4 | 27,153 | 0 |
Community water systems serving 50,000+ people, ranked by confirmed lead lines in the Q2 2026 inventory.
| # | Water system | State | Lead lines | % of its lines | Unknown | People served |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHICAGO | IL | 350,531 | 72% | 39,427 | 2,721,308 |
| 2 | CLEVELAND PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM | OH | 144,193 | 33% | 56,954 | 1,308,955 |
| 3 | NEW YORK CITY SYSTEM | NY | 120,931 | 15% | 124,917 | 8,271,000 |
| 4 | DETROIT CITY OF | MI | 80,595 | 32% | 39,073 | 633,218 |
| 5 | MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS | WI | 65,331 | 41% | 26,341 | 626,000 |
| 6 | CITIZENS WATER - INDIANAPOLIS | IN | 56,766 | 15% | 39,935 | 880,345 |
| 7 | Minneapolis | MN | 38,341 | 38% | 962 | 425,300 |
| 8 | CINCINNATI PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM | OH | 34,673 | 15% | 45 | 750,200 |
| 9 | BUFFALO WATER AUTHORITY | NY | 34,208 | 45% | 35,839 | 276,000 |
| 10 | SOUTH BEND WATER WORKS | IN | 27,001 | 55% | 10,572 | 115,000 |
| 11 | PROVIDENCE-CITY OF | RI | 25,785 | 32% | 7,402 | 333,142 |
| 12 | COLUMBUS PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM | OH | 25,155 | 8.7% | 65,266 | 1,305,946 |
| 13 | HAMMOND WATER WORKS DEPARTMENT | IN | 22,380 | 79% | 4,518 | 78,384 |
| 14 | ELKHART PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES | IN | 19,747 | 58% | 1,293 | 46,455 |
| 15 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI | 19,430 | 24% | 394 | 306,901 |
| 16 | Saint Paul Regional Water Services | MN | 17,772 | 18% | 6,084 | 392,529 |
| 17 | SYRACUSE CITY | NY | 17,239 | 45% | 16,098 | 192,000 |
| 18 | MEMPHIS LIGHT, GAS, & WATER | TN | 17,022 | 5.5% | 164,591 | 659,500 |
| 19 | D.C. WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY | DC | 16,935 | 12% | 13,388 | 632,323 |
| 20 | PHILADELPHIA WATER DEPARTMENT | PA | 16,805 | 3.2% | 351,513 | 1,600,000 |
| 21 | AURORA | IL | 16,799 | 34% | 93 | 183,000 |
| 22 | VEOLIA WATER NEW JERSEY HACKENSACK | NJ | 16,187 | 7.9% | 27,675 | 792,713 |
| 23 | PITTSBURGH WATER & SEWER AUTH | PA | 16,165 | 20% | 2,361 | 520,000 |
| 24 | DENVER WATER BOARD | CO | 15,826 | 5.1% | 34,057 | 1,287,000 |
| 25 | TRENTON WATER WORKS | NJ | 15,734 | 25% | 23,000 | 217,000 |
| 26 | ROCHESTER CITY | NY | 14,648 | 25% | 16,142 | 210,000 |
| 27 | ROCKFORD | IL | 14,240 | 26% | 28,598 | 147,051 |
| 28 | NEW ORLEANS CARROLLTON WATER WORKS | LA | 13,927 | 11% | 107,622 | 334,903 |
| 29 | CICERO | IL | 13,059 | 89% | 940 | 83,000 |
| 30 | CENTRAL ALABAMA WATER SYSTEM | AL | 12,350 | 5.3% | 36,839 | 585,000 |
| 31 | METROPOLITAN UTILITIES DISTRICT | NE | 11,738 | 5.1% | 2,505 | 660,000 |
| 32 | FORT WAYNE - 3 RIVERS FILTRATION PLANT | IN | 11,299 | 10% | 0 | 269,994 |
| 33 | IL AMERICAN-PEORIA | IL | 11,000 | 17% | 24,303 | 137,575 |
| 34 | BERWYN | IL | 10,863 | 81% | 4 | 57,250 |
| 35 | INDIANA AMERICAN WATER - NORTHWEST | IN | 10,833 | 12% | 36,484 | 210,510 |
| 36 | RACINE WATERWORKS | WI | 10,257 | 30% | 1 | 105,100 |
| 37 | EVANSTON | IL | 10,017 | 68% | 0 | 74,486 |
| 38 | ST LOUIS CITY PWS | MO | 9,990 | 9.4% | 64,378 | 304,709 |
| 39 | IOWA-AMERICAN WTR CO-DAVENPORT | IA | 9,620 | 16% | 15,954 | 147,720 |
| 40 | MO AMERICAN ST LOUIS ST CHARLES COUNTIES | MO | 9,422 | 2.4% | 191,341 | 1,111,000 |
| 41 | DAYTON PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM | OH | 9,393 | 15% | 4 | 141,407 |
| 42 | ELGIN | IL | 9,248 | 27% | 1,507 | 114,797 |
| 43 | DES MOINES WATER WORKS | IA | 8,114 | 8.9% | 45,950 | 246,055 |
| 44 | VEOLIA WATER NEW YORK, INC. RD-1 | NY | 8,008 | 25% | 6,290 | 146,732 |
| 45 | WEST ALLIS WATERWORKS | WI | 7,719 | 40% | 758 | 63,240 |
| 46 | WAUKEGAN | IL | 7,260 | 34% | 686 | 87,149 |
| 47 | OAK PARK | IL | 6,935 | 55% | 1,222 | 54,583 |
| 48 | ANKENY, CITY OF | IA | 6,630 | 23% | 0 | 76,207 |
| 49 | CHARLESTON WATER SYSTEM (SC1010001) | SC | 6,504 | 4.8% | 65,064 | 327,422 |
| 50 | OSHKOSH WATERWORKS | WI | 6,471 | 29% | 5,067 | 63,000 |
Replacement can take years. Until then, filter your drinking and cooking water with a system certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead reduction, and confirm your actual level with a certified lab test. Read the full lead in drinking water guide.
We may earn a commission from filters purchased through these links, at no extra cost to you.