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310 North Dakota water systems have inventoried 275,578 service lines for EPA. 4,963 (1.8%) are confirmed lead and 97,961 (36%) are still of unknown material. Below: every large or city-linked North Dakota utility ranked by lead lines.
North Dakota water systems reported 4,963 lead service lines and 695 galvanized lines requiring replacement as of Q2 2026 — 1.8% of the 275,578 lines inventoried and 0.2% of the national lead total, ranking #25 of 51. FARGO CITY OF reports the most in the state (2,025).
FARGO CITY OF (2,025), GRAND FORKS REGIONAL WTP (925), BISMARCK CITY OF (162).
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.
308 of the 310 North Dakota systems in EPA's Q2 2026 report have filed line counts. The 4,963 confirmed lead lines and 695 galvanized lines requiring replacement come from 87 systems — 28% of those reporting — so roughly one North Dakota system in 4 reports at least one lead line. 97,961 lines (36%) are still of unknown material, above the national share of 22%.
Why unknown lines matter: 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 North Dakota, that makes the 97,961 unknown lines (36%) 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 (3 shown). State totals above include every reporting system.
| # | Water system | Status | Lead | GRR | Unknown | Total lines | City report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FARGO CITY OF ND0900336 · 120,762 served | Lead service lines present | 2,025 | 24 | 25 | 29,182 | |
| 2 | GRAND FORKS REGIONAL WTP ND1800410 · 57,339 served | Lead service lines present | 925 | 68 | 643 | 15,854 | |
| 3 | BISMARCK CITY OF ND0800080 · 72,417 served | Lead service lines present | 162 | 13 | 5,064 | 22,177 |
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 North Dakota city water reports.
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