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1,159 New Hampshire water systems have inventoried 124,250 service lines for EPA. 233 (0.2%) are confirmed lead and 121,923 (98%) are still of unknown material. Below: every large or city-linked New Hampshire utility ranked by lead lines.
New Hampshire water systems reported 233 lead service lines and 2,092 galvanized lines requiring replacement as of Q2 2026 — 0.2% of the 124,250 lines inventoried and <0.1% of the national lead total, ranking #41 of 51. No New Hampshire system in this dataset reports a confirmed lead line yet.
None of the large or city-linked New Hampshire systems in EPA's Q2 2026 inventory report a confirmed lead service line, though 121,923 lines statewide are still of unknown material.
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.
411 of the 1,159 New Hampshire systems in EPA's Q2 2026 report have filed line counts. The 233 confirmed lead lines and 2,092 galvanized lines requiring replacement come from 4 systems — 1% of those reporting — so lead pipe in New Hampshire is concentrated in a small share of systems. 121,923 lines (98%) are still of unknown material, above the national share of 22%.
Treat "unknown" as the operative number. 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 New Hampshire, that makes the 121,923 unknown lines (98%) the pool from which future confirmed-lead counts will be drawn.
Your own answer is one lookup away: search your utility's service line inventory (usually an address map on its website), or read the water system name and lead results in your latest Consumer Confidence Report. Customers on a lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown line must be notified by the utility. Failing that, scratch the pipe at the water meter — lead is soft, dull gray, non-magnetic and turns shiny where scratched.
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 (2 shown). State totals above include every reporting system.
| # | Water system | Status | Lead | GRR | Unknown | Total lines | City report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MANCHESTER WATER WORKS NH1471010 · 123,500 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 17,297 | 17,297 | |
| 2 | PENNICHUCK WATER WORKS NH1621010 · 88,853 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 870 | 486 | 1,356 |
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 New Hampshire city water reports.
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