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2,938 New York water systems have inventoried 3,811,676 service lines for EPA. 251,269 (6.6%) are confirmed lead and 951,338 (25%) are still of unknown material. Below: every large or city-linked New York utility ranked by lead lines.
New York water systems reported 251,269 lead service lines and 37,819 galvanized lines requiring replacement as of Q2 2026 — 6.6% of the 3,811,676 lines inventoried and 11% of the national lead total, ranking #3 of 51. NEW YORK CITY SYSTEM reports the most in the state (120,931).
NEW YORK CITY SYSTEM (120,931), BUFFALO WATER AUTHORITY (34,208), SYRACUSE CITY (17,239) lead the list; 229 New York systems report at least one lead line in total.
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.
2,887 of the 2,938 New York systems in EPA's Q2 2026 report have filed line counts. The 251,269 confirmed lead lines and 37,819 galvanized lines requiring replacement come from 229 systems — 7.9% of those reporting — so lead pipe in New York is concentrated in a small share of systems. 951,338 lines (25%) are still of unknown material, close to 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 New York, that makes the 951,338 unknown lines (25%) the pool from which future confirmed-lead counts will be drawn.
Among the 5 New York utilities linked to a city report on this site, 5 report at least one lead or galvanized-requiring-replacement line. The largest — NEW YORK CITY SYSTEM (8,271,000 served), BUFFALO WATER AUTHORITY (276,000 served), and YONKERS CITY (211,569 served) — report 120,931 lead + 3,266 GRR, 34,208 lead + 110 GRR, and 65 lead + 6 GRR respectively.
To check your own line, start with your utility: most New York 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 (33 shown). State totals above include every reporting system.
| # | Water system | Status | Lead | GRR | Unknown | Total lines | City report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NEW YORK CITY SYSTEM NY7003493 · 8,271,000 served | Lead service lines present | 120,931 | 3,266 | 124,917 | 820,465 | New York → |
| 2 | BUFFALO WATER AUTHORITY NY1400422 · 276,000 served | Lead service lines present | 34,208 | 110 | 35,839 | 76,593 | Buffalo → |
| 3 | SYRACUSE CITY NY3304334 · 192,000 served | Lead service lines present | 17,239 | 48 | 16,098 | 38,601 | Syracuse → |
| 4 | ROCHESTER CITY NY2704518 · 210,000 served | Lead service lines present | 14,648 | 1,992 | 16,142 | 59,501 | Rochester → |
| 5 | VEOLIA WATER NEW YORK, INC. RD-1 NY5903444 · 146,732 served | Lead service lines present | 8,008 | 74 | 6,290 | 32,470 | |
| 6 | MVWA - MOHAWK VALLEY WATER AUTHORITY NY3202411 · 126,250 served | Lead service lines present | 6,445 | 19 | 33,583 | 44,415 | |
| 7 | MOUNT VERNON WATER DEPARTMENT NY5903441 · 73,893 served | Lead service lines present | 5,144 | 12 | 4,924 | 10,474 | |
| 8 | WA OF WESTERN NASSAU NY2902830 · 120,000 served | Lead service lines present | 4,459 | 4 | 483 | 27,817 | |
| 9 | LIBERTY UTILITIES NEW YORK - LYNBROOK NY2902835 · 220,000 served | Lead service lines present | 4,078 | 193 | 22,608 | 78,223 | |
| 10 | ALBANY CITY NY0100189 · 98,000 served | Lead service lines present | 2,199 | 46 | 19,108 | 24,680 | |
| 11 | TROY CITY PWS NY4100050 · 51,401 served | Lead service lines present | 1,564 | 77 | 7,777 | 12,637 | |
| 12 | ELMIRA WATER BOARD NY0701008 · 54,000 served | Lead service lines present | 1,045 | 1,828 | 3,221 | 19,830 | |
| 13 | VEOLIA WATER NEW YORK, INC. RD-2 NY5903456 · 57,301 served | Lead service lines present | 922 | 87 | 9,018 | 12,443 | |
| 14 | WESTCHESTER JOINT WATER WORKS NY5903435 · 59,629 served | Lead service lines present | 635 | 39 | 9,379 | 15,001 | |
| 15 | VEOLIA WATER NEW YORK NY4303673 · 270,000 served | Lead service lines present | 487 | 38 | 22,160 | 76,437 | |
| 16 | OCWA NY3304336 · 350,000 served | Lead service lines present | 400 | 3,495 | 72,099 | 116,509 | |
| 17 | ECWA DIRECT NY1400443 · 313,380 served | Lead service lines present | 248 | 4,798 | 15,383 | 111,731 | |
| 18 | NIAGARA FALLS WATER BOARD NY3100568 · 50,193 served | Lead service lines present | 179 | 47 | 18,070 | 18,587 | |
| 19 | HEMPSTEAD (V) NY2902827 · 56,000 served | Lead service lines present | 119 | 614 | 5,463 | 9,383 | |
| 20 | MCWA NY2701047 · 525,262 served | Lead service lines present | 107 | 3,264 | 9,987 | 181,821 | |
| 21 | YONKERS CITY NY5903465 · 211,569 served | Lead service lines present | 65 | 6 | 27,226 | 29,626 | Yonkers → |
| 22 | LIBERTY UTILITIES NEW YORK - MERRICK NY2902840 · 135,000 served | Lead service lines present | 32 | 16 | 253 | 45,999 | |
| 23 | TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD WATER DEPARTMENT NY2900000 · 110,000 served | Lead service lines present | 20 | 14 | 30,533 | 36,662 | |
| 24 | SUFFOLK COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY NY5110526 · 1,100,000 served | Lead service lines present | 11 | 0 | 54 | 396,459 | |
| 25 | SCHENECTADY CITY WATER WORKS NY4600070 · 61,821 served | Lead service lines present | 9 | 41 | 20,410 | 21,130 | |
| 26 | LATHAM WATER DISTRICT NY0100198 · 85,590 served | Lead service lines present | 6 | 34 | 2,922 | 26,058 | |
| 27 | TONAWANDA, TOWN WATER DEPT. NY1404556 · 72,571 served | Lead service lines present | 5 | 7 | 11,426 | 23,821 | |
| 28 | ECWA AMHERST NY1400399 · 92,697 served | Lead service lines present | 3 | 56 | 1,514 | 24,233 | |
| 29 | GREENBURGH CONSOLIDATED WD #1 NY5903429 · 86,624 served | Lead service lines present | 2 | 14 | 1,969 | 10,857 | |
| 30 | JERICHO WD NY2902831 · 58,000 served | Lead service lines present | 2 | 3 | 73 | 19,246 | |
| 31 | WHITE PLAINS CITY NY5903464 · 59,559 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 1 | 3,000 | 10,130 | |
| 32 | SOUTH HUNTINGTON WATER DISTRICT NY5103263 · 81,760 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 460 | 17,524 | |
| 33 | KIRYAS JOEL NY3503627 · 51,623 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,601 |
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 York city water reports.
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