Columbus Public Water System, OH
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.2 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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.
Columbus Public Water System at a glance
Columbus Public Water System serves about 1,309,468 people through 287,233 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Franklin County, Ohio. EPA system ID: OH2504412; phone on file: 614-645-8460. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Columbus Public Water System's lead record
That is up 1.2 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Columbus Public Water System is 1.2 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.2 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,079 Ohio systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0.7 ppb; 1 are over 15 ppb right now and 27 have gone over at some point. Columbus Public Water System's 1.2 ppb sits at the 63rd percentile in Ohio and the 59th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Franklin County
25 other systems share Franklin County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Columbus Public Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Westerville City Pws | 39,000 | 1 ppb |
| Reynoldsburg City Pws | 37,847 | 2.1 ppb |
| Gahanna City Pws | 33,258 | 0.5 ppb |
| Bexley City Pws | 14,250 | 0 (not detected) |
| Jefferson Water And Sewer District Pws | 11,294 | 2 ppb |
| Canal Winchester City Pws | 9,286 | 2.1 ppb |
| Sanitary District #4 | 8,575 | 1.3 ppb |
| Aqua Ohio - Blacklick | 7,100 | 0 (not detected) |
| Aqua Ohio - Huber Ridge Pws | 5,393 | 0 (not detected) |
| Aqua Ohio - Lake Darby | 3,562 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Columbus, OH 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 Columbus Public Water System 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.