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1,019 Maryland water systems have inventoried 1,638,572 service lines for EPA. 111 (<0.1%) are confirmed lead and 563,480 (34%) are still of unknown material. Below: every large or city-linked Maryland utility ranked by lead lines.
Maryland water systems reported 111 lead service lines and 3,045 galvanized lines requiring replacement as of Q2 2026 — <0.1% of the 1,638,572 lines inventoried and <0.1% of the national lead total, ranking #43 of 51. CITY OF BALTIMORE reports the most in the state (47).
CITY OF BALTIMORE (47), CITY OF FREDERICK (20), WASHINGTON SUBURBAN SANITARY COMMISSION (8).
Find your utility in the table below, then check its published service line inventory (most utilities post an address-lookup map) or call the number on your water bill. Utilities must notify customers whose line is lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown. You can also test the pipe entering your home: lead is soft, dull gray, non-magnetic and turns shiny when scratched.
Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, systems must replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines within 10 years starting in 2027; systems with very high counts can receive longer deadlines. Ask your utility for its replacement plan and whether it covers the homeowner-owned portion.
Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead for drinking and cooking, flush the tap after water has sat for hours, never use hot tap water for drinking or infant formula, and confirm your actual level with a certified lab test.
Source: EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18). Counts are service lines, not people.
966 of the 1,019 Maryland systems in EPA's Q2 2026 report have filed line counts. The 111 confirmed lead lines and 3,045 galvanized lines requiring replacement come from 16 systems — 1.7% of those reporting — so lead pipe in Maryland is concentrated in a small share of systems. 563,480 lines (34%) are still of unknown material, above the national share of 22%.
The unknown category is not a footnote. Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), every community water system had to submit an initial service line inventory by October 16, 2024, and lines whose material could not be documented were reported as unknown. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), finalized in October 2024, require systems to keep identifying those lines, to notify customers served by a lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown line, and to replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines — generally within 10 years of the rule's November 1, 2027 compliance date. The LCRI also lowers the lead action level from 15 to 10 ppb. For Maryland, that makes the 563,480 unknown lines (34%) the pool from which future confirmed-lead counts will be drawn.
Among the 15 Maryland utilities linked to a city report on this site, 8 report at least one lead or galvanized-requiring-replacement line, 4 report none but still have a quarter or more of their lines unverified, and 3 report no lead with most lines verified. The largest — WASHINGTON SUBURBAN SANITARY COMMISSION (1,900,000 served), CITY OF BALTIMORE (1,600,000 served), and GLEN BURNIE-BROADNECK (290,606 served) — report 8 lead + 1,277 GRR, 47 lead + 385 GRR, and 0 lead + 48 GRR respectively.
To check your own line, start with your utility: most Maryland systems publish their inventory as an address-lookup map or table, and the annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) names the system and its lead results. If your address shows lead, galvanized or unknown, the utility is required to have notified you; if you cannot find it, ask for the service line material on record. You can also inspect the pipe where it enters the house — lead is dull gray, soft enough to scratch shiny with a coin, and does not attract a magnet.
EPA's rule text and timelines are on its Lead and Copper Rule Improvements page. While your line is unverified, our best water filters for lead guide covers NSF/ANSI 53-certified options, and the lead in drinking water guide explains testing and health thresholds.
EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18); regulatory dates from EPA's LCRR/LCRI pages.
Community systems serving 50,000+ people plus systems linked to a city report on this site (19 shown). State totals above include every reporting system.
| # | Water system | Status | Lead | GRR | Unknown | Total lines | City report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CITY OF BALTIMORE MD0300002 · 1,600,000 served | Lead service lines present | 47 | 385 | 335,694 | 456,090 | Baltimore → |
| 2 | CITY OF FREDERICK MD0100015 · 54,000 served | Lead service lines present | 20 | 135 | 5,804 | 21,974 | Frederick → |
| 3 | WASHINGTON SUBURBAN SANITARY COMMISSION MD0150005 · 1,900,000 served | Lead service lines present | 8 | 1,277 | 57,121 | 519,915 | Laurel → |
| 4 | CITY OF HAGERSTOWN MD0210010 · 92,200 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 17,747 | 31,557 | Hagerstown → |
| 5 | HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION MD0130002 · 286,158 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 1 | 16,800 | 82,118 | Columbia → |
| 6 | CITY OF CUMBERLAND MD0010008 · 27,039 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 6 | 8,916 | 9,629 | Cumberland → |
| 7 | CITY OF ROCKVILLE MD0150003 · 52,000 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 8,298 | 13,225 | Rockville → |
| 8 | GLEN BURNIE-BROADNECK MD0020017 · 290,606 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 48 | 8,124 | 95,228 | Glen Burnie → |
| 9 | CITY OF SALISBURY MD0220004 · 30,343 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 3 | 7,521 | 11,560 | Salisbury → |
| 10 | CITY OF ANNAPOLIS MD0020001 · 35,000 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 27 | 6,943 | 13,033 | Annapolis → |
| 11 | MARYLAND AMERICAN WATER COMPANY MD0120003 · 13,200 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 4,879 | 5,064 | Bel Air → |
| 12 | NEW DESIGN - FREDERICK COUNTY MD0100030 · 74,911 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 4,730 | 24,961 | |
| 13 | WALDORF - CHARLES COUNTY DPW MD0080049 · 84,296 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 3,737 | 31,388 | |
| 14 | HARFORD COUNTY D.P.W. MD0120016 · 104,567 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 3,293 | 43,595 | |
| 15 | EASTON UTILITIES MD0200003 · 17,357 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 3,074 | 8,338 | Easton → |
| 16 | CROFTON-ODENTON MD0020008 · 62,986 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 616 | 22,704 | Odenton → |
| 17 | FORT GEORGE G. MEADE MD0020012 · 62,234 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 88 | 144 | 2,966 | |
| 18 | CITY OF WESTMINSTER MD0060015 · 35,256 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9,374 | Westminster → |
| 19 | CITY OF BOWIE MD0160002 · 25,000 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,899 | Bowie → |
A lead or unknown service line means lead can enter water after it leaves the treatment plant, so city-level test results understate what reaches your tap. Filter drinking and cooking water with an NSF/ANSI 53 lead-certified system, and see the lead in drinking water guide or Maryland city water reports.
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