Griffith Water Department, IN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.01 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.
Who runs the water here
Griffith Water Department serves about 16,893 people through 5,749 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 surface water, in Lake County, Indiana. EPA system ID: IN5245019; phone on file: 219-924-3838. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Griffith Water Department's lead record
Against the period ending 2020 (1.28 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Griffith Water Department is 3.3 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.01 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.28 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.33 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.3 ppb |
| 2017 | 3.3 ppb |
How Griffith Water Department compares
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. Griffith Water Department's 1.01 ppb sits at the 44th percentile in Indiana and the 56th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Lake County
27 other systems share Lake County; 14 of them have a higher latest lead result than Griffith Water Department. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana American Water - Northwest | 210,510 | 3 ppb |
| Hammond Water Works Department | 78,384 | 3 ppb |
| Crown Point Water Works | 30,000 | 0.7 ppb |
| Schererville Water Department | 30,000 | 1 ppb |
| East Chicago Water Works | 26,370 | 8 ppb |
| St. John Municipal Water Utility | 25,700 | 2.9 ppb |
| Highland Water Works | 23,984 | 2.4 ppb |
| Munster Water Company | 23,894 | 2 ppb |
| Dyer Water Department | 16,800 | 9.9 ppb |
| Indiana American Water - Lowell | 11,908 | 1 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Griffith, 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 Griffith 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.