Columbia City Water Department, IN
Above the new 10 ppb level coming in 2027
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 14 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Under the current 15 ppb rule this is not an exceedance, but it is above the 10 ppb action level that takes over in Nov 2027. Test your own tap; filter if your result shows lead.
Who runs the water here
Columbia City Water Department serves about 9,892 people through 4,124 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 Whitley County, Indiana. EPA system ID: IN5292004; phone on file: 260-248-5118. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Columbia City Water Department's lead record
That is up 7 ppb from 7 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Columbia City Water Department is 14 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (2 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 ppb over 10 |
| 2022 | 7 ppb |
| 2019 | 4 ppb |
| 2016 | 11.2 ppb over 10 |
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. Columbia City Water Department's 14 ppb sits at the 99th percentile in Indiana and the 99th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
3 other systems share Whitley County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Columbia City Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| South Whitley Municipal Water | 1,818 | 1.51 ppb |
| Churubusco Water Department | 1,803 | 1.4 ppb |
| Blue Ridge Mobile Home Park | 300 | 0.62 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Columbia City, 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 Columbia City 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. This system is in the band the 2027 10 ppb rule changes.