Howard Lake, MN
Above the new 10 ppb level coming in 2027
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 15 ppb (monitoring period 2022-2024). 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.
Howard Lake at a glance
Howard Lake serves about 2,180 people through 1,120 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in Wright County, Minnesota. EPA system ID: MN1860010; phone on file: 3205433670. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Every lead result on file
That is up 6 ppb from 9 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Howard Lake is 15 ppb across 2 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 15 ppb over 10 |
| 2021 | 9 ppb |
Where this result ranks
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. Howard Lake's 15 ppb sits at the 99th percentile in Minnesota and the 99th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
17 other systems share Wright County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Howard Lake. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Joint Powers Water Board | 30,922 | 0 (not detected) |
| Otsego | 19,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Buffalo | 16,711 | 2 ppb |
| Monticello | 15,087 | 4 ppb |
| Delano Municipal Utilities | 7,500 | 0 (not detected) |
| Rockford | 4,863 | 2 ppb |
| Montrose | 3,915 | 0 (not detected) |
| Annandale | 3,430 | 1 ppb |
| Cokato | 2,792 | 1 ppb |
| Waverly | 2,234 | 36 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Howard Lake, 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 Howard Lake 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. This system is in the band the 2027 10 ppb rule changes.