Malta City Of, MT
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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
Malta City Of serves about 1,800 people through 1,112 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 Phillips County, Montana. EPA system ID: MT0000284; phone on file: 406-301-1075. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Malta City Of's lead record
That is up 2 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2026. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Malta City Of is 2 ppb across 5 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 ppb |
| 2026 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2024 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 1 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 753 Montana systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 5 are over 15 ppb right now and 28 have gone over at some point. Malta City Of's 2 ppb sits at the 75th percentile in Montana and the 72nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Phillips County
6 other systems share Phillips County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Malta City Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Saco Town Of | 180 | 1 ppb |
| Phillips County Zortman Water And Sewer | 169 | 1 ppb |
| Dodson Town Of | 120 | 1 ppb |
| Camp Creek Wua Inc | 50 | 1 ppb |
| East Malta Colony | 47 | 0 (not detected) |
| Loring Hutterian Brethren Inc | 45 | 0 (not detected) |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Malta, MT 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 Malta City Of whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 1480 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.