Bay City, City Of, MI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 8 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
Who runs the water here
Bay City, City Of serves about 32,255 people through 14,756 service connections, which makes it a large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Bay County, Michigan. EPA system ID: MI0000470; phone on file: 989-894-8321. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Bay City, City Of's lead record
That is down 2 ppb from 10 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Bay City, City Of is 12 ppb across 9 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (2 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 ppb |
| 2025 | 10 ppb |
| 2024 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2023 | 8 ppb |
| 2022 | 7 ppb |
| 2021 | 9 ppb |
| 2020 | 3 ppb |
| 2019 | 12 ppb over 10 |
| 2019 | 10 ppb |
How Bay City, City Of compares
Of the 1,227 Michigan systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 31 are over 15 ppb right now and 109 have gone over at some point. Bay City, City Of's 8 ppb sits at the 95th percentile in Michigan and the 96th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
20 other systems share Bay County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Bay City, City Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Bangor Township | 11,999 | 1.3 ppb |
| Hampton Township | 9,652 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bay Co. Dept Of Water & Sewer | 8,465 | 3.5 ppb |
| Williams Township | 5,444 | 0 (not detected) |
| Monitor Township | 5,217 | 0 (not detected) |
| Frankenlust Township | 3,626 | 1.4 ppb |
| Essexville, City Of | 3,478 | 0 (not detected) |
| Kawkawlin Township | 3,170 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bangor-Monitor Metro District | 2,971 | 0 (not detected) |
| Auburn | 2,087 | 2 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Bay City, MI may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Bay City, City Of whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.