Ellsworth, MN
Above the new 10 ppb level coming in 2027
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 11 ppb (monitoring period 2025-2025). 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
Ellsworth serves about 490 people through 253 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Nobles County, Minnesota. EPA system ID: MN1530005; phone on file: 5079672373. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is up 5 ppb from 6 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Ellsworth is 16 ppb across 10 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2025 | 6 ppb |
| 2024 | 5 ppb |
| 2021 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2018 | 6 ppb |
| 2018 | 5 ppb |
| 2017 | 7 ppb |
| 2017 | 5 ppb |
| 2016 | 16 ppb over 15 |
Against other Minnesota systems
Of the 966 Minnesota systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 7 are over 15 ppb right now and 48 have gone over at some point. Ellsworth's 11 ppb sits at the 98th percentile in Minnesota and the 98th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
11 other systems share Nobles County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Ellsworth. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Worthington | 14,052 | 14 ppb |
| Adrian | 1,211 | 3 ppb |
| Brewster | 506 | 3 ppb |
| Round Lake | 376 | 2 ppb |
| Wilmont | 344 | 1 ppb |
| Rushmore | 342 | 0 (not detected) |
| Lismore | 237 | 2 ppb |
| Bigelow | 235 | 1 ppb |
| Leota | 225 | 11 ppb |
| Reading | 75 | 1 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Ellsworth, MN 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 Ellsworth 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. See what changes at 10 ppb in 2027.