Berne Water Department, IN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3.55 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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
Berne Water Department serves about 4,388 people through 1,854 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Adams County, Indiana. EPA system ID: IN5201001; phone on file: 260-589-8526. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Every lead result on file
That is up 1.19 ppb from 2.36 ppb in the period ending 2023. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Berne Water Department is 3.8 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 3.55 ppb |
| 2023 | 2.36 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.94 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.8 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 687 Indiana systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.31 ppb; 6 are over 15 ppb right now and 36 have gone over at some point. Berne Water Department's 3.55 ppb sits at the 83rd percentile in Indiana and the 85th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
4 other systems share Adams County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Berne Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Decatur Water Department | 9,900 | 12.7 ppb |
| Geneva Water Department | 1,359 | 1.08 ppb |
| Monroe Water Department | 872 | 0 (not detected) |
| Oakwood Community Association, Inc. | 210 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Berne, IN 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 Berne Water Department 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.