America’s lead pipes in 2026: what utility inventories show
Data report · November 1, 2026
Every U.S. water system had to inventory its service lines by October 16, 2024. We analyzed the counts reported to EPA for 49,342 community water systems. Here's what they show.
Key findings
- U.S. community water systems reported 2,167,443 lead service lines and 986,963 galvanized lines that must be replaced: 3,154,406 in all, or 3.1% of the 102,667,967 lines inventoried.
- Another 21,877,944 lines (21%) are still "lead status unknown," about seven times the number of confirmed lead and galvanized lines.
- Lead is concentrated. The 10 systems with the most account for 31% of all confirmed lead and galvanized lines, and the top 100 for 62%. 7,629 systems reported at least one.
- Illinois (667,350), Ohio (322,473), New York (289,056) have the most confirmed lead and galvanized lines.
- 3,312 community water systems, serving about 4,415,176 people, have no service line counts in EPA's data.
- In 1,024 systems, the latest 90th-percentile lead result in EPA data was above the 15 ppb action level.
Progress since 2025 Q1
Across community water systems, reported lead and galvanized lines went from 2,914,942 in 2025 Q1 to 3,154,406 in 2026 Q3, and unknown lines from 22,597,261 to 21,877,944. Changes mix real replacements with reclassification as utilities inspect lines. Systems with the most progress.
States with the most lead and galvanized lines
States where the largest share of lines are lead
Among states with at least 50,000 reported lines, compared with 3.1% nationally.
States with the most unidentified lines
Share of each state's reported lines still listed as unknown material.
Systems with the most lead lines
Big systems have the highest share of lead
Share of reported lines confirmed lead or galvanized, and share still unknown, by population served. Lead is most common in large, older city systems, while unknown lines are spread across systems of every size.
| System size | Systems | Unknown | Lead + galv. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 500 people | 23,858 | 17% | 1.3% |
| 500 to 3,300 | 12,730 | 22% | 2.1% |
| 3,301 to 10,000 | 4,906 | 23% | 2.3% |
| 10,001 to 100,000 | 4,053 | 20% | 2.5% |
| Over 100,000 | 483 | 22% | 4.1% |
What it means
EPA estimates about 4 million lead lines nationally once likely-lead unknowns are counted. Under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, most systems must identify every unknown line and replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines by December 31, 2037; the rule is being challenged in court. For households, the practical step is the same everywhere: check your address, filter if your line is lead, galvanized or unknown, and ask your utility about replacement.
Methodology
Counts are from EPA SDWIS service line inventory, 2026 Q3, community water systems only (46,030 with reported counts). State totals sum the systems in each state. Size groups use EPA's population-served figures. Full data: CSV download.
Lead Pipe Map, "America’s lead pipes in 2026: what utility inventories show," November 1, 2026, https://leadpipemap.com/reports/lead-service-lines-2026/.
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