Flint's 90th-percentile lead level dropped below the EPA action limit in 2016-2017 and has stayed there. The biggest lead-pipe backlogs today are in Chicago (about 412,000 known or suspected lead lines), Cleveland (about 178,000 possible lead connections), Milwaukee (about 65,000), and Detroit (tens of thousands), with Pittsburgh still finishing the cleanup from its 2014 corrosion-control change and Jackson, MS under a federal court-appointed manager since 2022. Under the EPA's October 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, most systems get 10 years to replace lead lines, and the few with the heaviest burdens can qualify for longer deferred deadlines.
Flint became America's symbol of lead-in-water failure after the 2014 Flint River disaster. But here's what the data shows now: Flint's 90th-percentile lead level–the metric the EPA uses to determine compliance–fell below the 15 parts per billion (ppb) action level in the July-December 2016 monitoring period, and it has stayed there. Under a 2017 court settlement, the city excavated service lines at about 31,930 addresses and replaced about 11,600 lead or galvanized lines; the City of Flint reported its final active lead service line replaced in 2026.
The cities that didn't get the same attention are where the problem lives today. Chicago has an estimated 412,000 known or suspected lead service lines, more than any US city. Cleveland Water counts about 178,000 possible lead connections. Pittsburgh's lead levels climbed after a 2014 change in its corrosion-control chemistry. Jackson, Mississippi's water system has been run by a federal court-appointed manager since the 2022 treatment plant failure. These are documented exceedances, inventories, and enforcement actions, not hypothetical risks.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021) allocated $15 billion specifically for lead service line replacement, with an additional $11.7 billion through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. The EPA's October 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) requires utilities to complete a baseline service line inventory by 2027 and replace lead lines within 10 years, with a deferred deadline available only to systems that would otherwise need more than 39 replacements per 1,000 service connections a year. The question is which cities are on track and which aren't.
Lead in drinking water is not the dominant source of childhood lead poisoning in the US–paint and contaminated dust account for most cases. But water matters. EPA estimates that drinking water can make up 20 percent or more of a person's total lead exposure, and 40 to 60 percent for infants who drink mostly formula mixed with tap water. The risk concentrates in older cities where lead service lines connect water mains to homes built before the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments banned lead pipes.
The EPA's Lead and Copper Rule sets an action level of 15 ppb measured at the 90th percentile of sampled high-risk homes. If 10% of tested homes exceed 15 ppb, the utility must act–optimize corrosion control, conduct public education, and in severe cases, replace lead service lines. EPA's 2025 estimate, built from utilities' service line inventories, puts the number of lead service lines still in use at about 4 million, down from its earlier 9.2 million projection. The October 2024 LCRI tightened the rules: it lowers the action level to 10 ppb starting November 2027, and utilities must replace lead service lines within 10 years of that compliance date (about 2037). Systems with the heaviest lead-line burdens can qualify for a deferred deadline; for Chicago that works out to roughly 2049, according to Inside Climate News.
But compliance data tells a different story than inventory counts. The EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database tracks violations. It lists Lead and Copper Rule violations for systems large and small: exceedances of the action level, failure to optimize corrosion control, or missed sampling requirements. These are the cities where the problem is active right now.
Chicago has the largest lead service line inventory in the United States. The Chicago Department of Water Management's 2025 inventory counts about 412,000 of its roughly 491,000 service lines as known or suspected lead, around 84% of the city's connections (WBEZ). Because that burden exceeds the LCRI's deferral threshold, Chicago qualifies for a deferred deadline of roughly 20 years instead of 10, which puts its federal deadline around 2049. The city's own plan runs to 2076.
The city's 90th-percentile lead level has stayed below the 15 ppb action level, between about 5.6 and 9.1 ppb in EPA compliance data since 2018 (7.1 ppb for 2024 and 8.8 ppb for the second half of 2025). Replacement has been slow: Chicago replaced 7,923 lead lines over four years, and the LCRI pace would require nearly 20,000 a year starting in 2027 (Inside Climate News).
Chicago's corrosion control uses orthophosphate to coat pipe interiors and reduce lead leaching. A 2013 EPA field study in Chicago homes by Del Toral and colleagues found that first-liter sampling can miss the highest lead levels, which often come from water that sat in the service line, and that physical disturbances such as street or meter work can raise lead release.
If you live in Chicago and your home was built before 1986, assume you have a lead service line until proven otherwise. The city's online service line inventory lets you check your address. If lead is present, request a free lead test kit from the city. The test is processed by an EPA-certified lab and results come back in 7-10 days. For immediate protection, use an NSF/ANSI 53-certified filter rated for lead removal. We track the best-rated filters in our water filtration guide.
Cleveland Water serves about 1.3 million people across Greater Cleveland. The utility estimates about 178,000 possible lead service connections, including about 142,000 with city-owned lead, one of the largest counts in the country. Unlike Chicago, Cleveland does not serve a single dense municipality; it's a regional system spanning multiple counties. That makes coordination harder. Replacement timelines vary by jurisdiction.
Cleveland's 90th-percentile lead level is low: EPA compliance data show 1.7 ppb in 2018 and results below the reporting limit in the 2021 and 2024 rounds, well under both the EPA action level and the 5 ppb many health experts use as a benchmark. The risk is concentrated in individual homes with lead lines rather than showing up system-wide. Under the LCRI, an analysis by the Environmental Policy Innovation Center estimated Cleveland could qualify for a deferred timeline of about 16 years.
Partial replacements are a known hazard in cities like Cleveland, where the public and private sides of a service line can be owned separately. EPA and university research has found that replacing only one side can temporarily raise lead levels by disturbing pipe scale, which is why the LCRI generally requires full replacement.
Residents can look up their service line material on Cleveland Water's online map and ask the utility about lead testing and replacement options. Full service line replacement typically costs several thousand dollars depending on excavation requirements, so check what the utility covers before hiring a contractor.
Milwaukee has one of the highest per-capita lead service line densities in the US. After celebrating its 10,000th replacement in May 2025, the city still had roughly 65,000 lead service lines to go (Urban Milwaukee). The latest 90th-percentile lead level in EPA compliance data is 5.3 ppb, below the EPA action level.
Milwaukee completed about 1,100 replacements in 2023 and 2,700 in 2024, and aims for 5,000 a year starting in 2026, with a goal of replacing the remaining lead lines by 2037.
Milwaukee draws its water from Lake Michigan and adds orthophosphate for corrosion control, the same approach Chicago uses, to keep a protective coating on the inside of lead pipes.
Milwaukee Water Works offers lead information, testing guidance, and replacement scheduling on its website. Homeowner cost-sharing rules for the private side of the line have changed over time, so check the city's current terms before you sign anything. We break down Milwaukee's program and similar initiatives nationwide in our lead service line replacement funding guide. We break down Milwaukee's program and similar initiatives nationwide in our lead service line replacement funding guide.
Pittsburgh's lead problem traces to 2014, when the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) switched its corrosion-control chemical from soda ash to caustic soda without notifying regulators. Lead levels climbed, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection cited PWSA in 2016 and ordered corrective action.
PWSA's 90th-percentile lead level hit 22 ppb in the first half of 2016, well above the EPA action level. The utility began adding orthophosphate in April 2019, and lead levels dropped; EPA compliance data show 3.6 ppb in late 2023 and 2 ppb in 2025. By January 2026, PWSA had replaced its 14,000th lead service line since 2016 and says it is on pace to replace every residential lead line before the end of 2027.
Pittsburgh's case illustrates a critical fact: corrosion control treatment is not optional. A 2009 study by Edwards and colleagues published in Environmental Science & Technology linked Washington, DC's 2001-2004 lead crisis, which followed a switch from chlorine to chloramine disinfection that disrupted the protective scale on lead pipes, to elevated blood lead in young children. Pittsburgh's chemical change was different, but the lesson is the same. Once protective scale is disturbed, it takes months to rebuild. During that window, lead exposure jumps.
Pittsburgh residents can check their service line material using PWSA's online lookup tool. If lead is present, request a free water test. The utility covers the full cost of replacement, both public and private sides. No homeowner contribution is required. That's rare. Most cities require homeowners to pay for the private-side portion.
Detroit's treated water comes from the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), the regional system created in 2016 from the old Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) wholesale operation; DWSD still runs the city's own pipes. Detroit has tens of thousands of lead service lines within city limits. In 2018, Detroit Public Schools Community District shut off drinking fountains across its schools after tests found elevated lead or copper and switched to filtered hydration stations.
Detroit's 90th-percentile lead level has stayed below the action level, peaking around 12.7 ppb and most recently 7.5 ppb in EPA compliance data. The city is replacing lead service lines at no cost to residents, prioritizing blocks with the most lead lines.
Flint's crisis began in 2014 when the city left Detroit-supplied water for the Flint River without adding corrosion control. Flint switched back to Detroit-supplied water in October 2015, but lead levels took more than a year to fall below the action level. The lesson: source water matters, but treatment matters more. Flint River water was corrosive and untreated for corrosion; the Detroit supply is treated with orthophosphate. Same region, different outcomes.
Detroit residents can request free lead testing and check their service line status through the city's water department. The city also offers water filters for homes with lead service lines or elevated test results.
Jackson's water crisis is not primarily about lead, but lead is part of the story. In August 2022, flooding damaged the OB Curtis Water Treatment Plant, leaving 150,000 Jackson residents without safe drinking water for weeks. In November 2022, the Justice Department sued the city on EPA's behalf over chronic Safe Drinking Water Act violations, and a federal court appointed an interim third-party manager to run the water system.
Jackson exceeded the lead action level in 2015-2016 and has been under corrosion-control requirements since. Its 90th-percentile lead results in EPA compliance data have ranged from about 4 to 16 ppb, most recently about 4 ppb. The size of its lead service line inventory is still being worked out.
Jackson's challenges go beyond lead. Aging mains break often, and the treatment plants have needed extensive repairs. Congress provided $600 million for Jackson's water system in the December 2022 federal spending bill. Lead service line work is part of the project, but stabilizing the treatment system comes first.
Jackson residents who want extra protection can use NSF/ANSI 53-certified filters for lead. The Mississippi State Department of Health has information on lead testing. Do not drink unfiltered tap water if you are pregnant, have young children, or have compromised immunity. Jackson's situation is the clearest example of what happens when infrastructure investment is deferred for decades.
Newark does not belong on a "worst cities" list in 2026, but it's the necessary counterpoint. Newark had about 23,000 lead service lines in 2018. The city's 90th-percentile lead level was 27 ppb in 2017 and peaked at 57 ppb in the first half of 2019. The city responded aggressively, replacing roughly 23,000 lead service lines in under three years starting in 2019. By 2023, Newark's 90th-percentile lead level was about 4 ppb, and later rounds fell below the reporting limit.
Newark used a combination of federal grants, state revolving fund loans, and revenue bonds to finance the replacement. The city hired multiple contractors to work simultaneously across different zones. Residents paid nothing. The city covered both public and private-side costs. Newark's success proves that full lead service line replacement is achievable within 3-5 years if the political will and funding align.
The contrast is instructive. Chicago has about 18 times as many lead service lines as Newark had, and roughly 9 times the population. Scale matters, but so does urgency. Newark treated lead service lines as an emergency. Chicago treats it as a long-term capital project. The LCRI will force faster action, but cities that move now will finish sooner.
If you live in one of these cities–or any city with documented lead service lines–take these steps:
Lead in drinking water is a solved problem–we know what causes it, we know how to fix it, and we have the funding to do it. What's missing is speed. The cities that act now will be done by 2030. The cities that wait will still be replacing lines in 2045.
You can check your water quality by zip code using our free lookup tool. It pulls EPA data for PFAS, lead, and other contaminants detected in your area. If lead service lines are documented in your system, we'll show you that too.
Which US city has the most lead pipes? Chicago has the most lead service lines in the United States, about 412,000 known or suspected lead lines in the Chicago Department of Water Management's 2025 inventory. Cleveland Water estimates about 178,000 possible lead connections, and Milwaukee and Detroit each have tens of thousands remaining. Under the EPA's October 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, Chicago qualifies for a deferred deadline of roughly 20 years (around 2049), while most other systems must complete replacement by about 2037.
Is Flint Michigan water still bad? No. Flint's 90th-percentile lead level fell below the EPA action limit of 15 ppb in the second half of 2016 and has remained below it since. The city switched back to corrosion-controlled Detroit Water and Sewerage Department supply in October 2015, excavated service lines at about 31,930 addresses, and replaced about 11,600 lead or galvanized lines under a 2017 settlement. Flint's water quality now meets federal standards, though the city continues to monitor closely.
How do I find out if my city has lead in the water? Check your city's Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), published annually by every public water system. Search "[your city name] consumer confidence report" or visit the EPA's CCR database. The report lists the 90th-percentile lead level. If it's above 5 ppb, lead is present. You can also request a free water test from your utility or check the EPA's ECHO database for Lead and Copper Rule violations.
When will all lead pipes be replaced in the US? The EPA's October 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements requires utilities to complete a baseline inventory by 2027 and replace lead lines within 10 years, meaning full replacement by about 2037 for most systems. Systems with the heaviest burdens (like Chicago) can qualify for longer deferred deadlines. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated $15 billion for lead service line replacement, but full replacement depends on whether cities meet their deadlines.
What is the EPA action level for lead? The EPA's action level for lead in drinking water is 15 parts per billion (ppb), measured at the 90th percentile of high-risk homes. If more than 10% of sampled homes exceed 15 ppb, the utility must take corrective action–optimize corrosion control, educate the public, and in severe cases, replace lead service lines. The World Health Organization's provisional guideline is 10 ppb, and EPA's 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements lower the action level to 10 ppb starting November 2027.