Germantown Water Dept, TN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.9 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. 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.
About Germantown Water Dept
Germantown Water Dept serves about 37,738 people through 14,627 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 groundwater, in Shelby County, Tennessee. EPA system ID: TN0000262; phone on file: 901-757-7387. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Germantown Water Dept's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (1.4 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Germantown Water Dept is 2.3 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.9 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.4 ppb |
| 2021 | 1.1 ppb |
| 2020 | 1 ppb |
| 2019 | 1 ppb |
| 2016 | 2.3 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 453 Tennessee systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 0 are over 15 ppb right now and 10 have gone over at some point. Germantown Water Dept's 1.9 ppb sits at the 85th percentile in Tennessee and the 69th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
5 other systems share Shelby County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Germantown Water Dept. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Memphis Light, Gas, & Water | 659,500 | 4.73 ppb |
| Bartlett Water System | 57,129 | 1 ppb |
| Collierville Water Dept | 51,972 | 1 ppb |
| Millington Water Dept | 8,935 | 1 ppb |
| Nsa - Midsouth | 7,000 | 2.43 ppb |
Next steps for Germantown, TN
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Germantown, TN 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 Germantown Water Dept whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1500 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.