Indiana American Water - Northwest, IN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 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. 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
Indiana American Water - Northwest serves about 210,510 people through 84,204 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Lake County, Indiana. EPA system ID: IN5245015; phone on file: 317-885-2408. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
That is down 2 ppb from 5 ppb in the period ending 2021. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Indiana American Water - Northwest is 6 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 ppb |
| 2021 | 5 ppb |
| 2018 | 6 ppb |
Where this result ranks
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. Indiana American Water - Northwest's 3 ppb sits at the 81st percentile in Indiana and the 83rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
27 other systems share Lake County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Indiana American Water - Northwest. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Griffith Water Department | 16,893 | 1.01 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; Greenwood, 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 Indiana American Water - Northwest 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.