Manhattan Beach-City, Water Dept., CA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5.4 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2025). 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
Manhattan Beach-City, Water Dept. serves about 34,051 people through 13,518 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 Los Angeles County, California. EPA system ID: CA1910083; phone on file: 310-802-5320. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Manhattan Beach-City, Water Dept.'s lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (4.4 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Manhattan Beach-City, Water Dept. is 5.4 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.4 ppb |
| 2022 | 4.4 ppb |
| 2019 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2016 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 2,884 California systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 30 are over 15 ppb right now and 215 have gone over at some point. Manhattan Beach-City, Water Dept.'s 5.4 ppb sits at the 93rd percentile in California and the 92nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Los Angeles County
197 other systems share Los Angeles County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Manhattan Beach-City, Water Dept.. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-City, Dept. Of Water & Power | 3,875,566 | 3.9 ppb |
| Long Beach Utilities Department | 466,772 | 0.97 ppb |
| Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency | 292,014 | 0 (not detected) |
| Gswc - Southwest | 277,740 | 1.7 ppb |
| San Gabriel Valley Water Co.-El Monte | 240,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Los Angeles Cwwd 40 Reg 4 & 34 Lancaster | 208,129 | 1.8 ppb |
| Glendale-City, Water Dept. | 192,212 | 5.3 ppb |
| Suburban Water Systems-San Jose | 170,523 | 0 (not detected) |
| Pasadena Water And Power | 165,448 | 1.9 ppb |
| Pomona - City, Water Dept. | 151,713 | 2.1 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Manhattan Beach, CA 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 Manhattan Beach-City, Water Dept. 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. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.