Highland, IL
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2026-2028). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
About Highland
Highland serves about 10,674 people through 4,990 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 Madison County, Illinois. EPA system ID: IL1190550; phone on file: 618-654-6823. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2025 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Highland is 17 ppb across 12 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2025 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2024 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 2.1 ppb |
| 2022 | 1.1 ppb |
| 2022 | 2.9 ppb |
| 2021 | 3 ppb |
| 2021 | 3.6 ppb |
| 2020 | 17 ppb over 15 |
| 2017 | 8.2 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,744 Illinois systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 22 are over 15 ppb right now and 152 have gone over at some point. Highland's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 51st percentile in Illinois and the 37th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Neighbouring systems
35 other systems share Madison County; 16 of them have a higher latest lead result than Highland. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Il American-Alton | 46,127 | 3 ppb |
| Il American-Granite City | 33,572 | 6 ppb |
| Collinsville | 30,616 | 0 (not detected) |
| Edwardsville | 26,808 | 0 (not detected) |
| Troy | 16,962 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bethalto | 15,210 | 1.2 ppb |
| Glen Carbon | 12,618 | 0 (not detected) |
| Wood River | 10,464 | 0 (not detected) |
| Maryville | 10,150 | 2 ppb |
| Fosterburg Pwd | 7,940 | 2.8 ppb |
Next steps for Highland, IL
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Highland, IL 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 Highland 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. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.