Merritt Township, MI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 ppb (monitoring period 2023-2023). 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.
Merritt Township at a glance
Merritt Township serves about 1,474 people through 528 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 surface water, in Bay County, Michigan. EPA system ID: MI0004280; phone on file: 989-439-7237. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Merritt Township's lead record
Against the period ending 2022 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Merritt Township is 1.1 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 ppb |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 1.1 ppb |
| 2019 | 1.1 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 1,227 Michigan systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 31 are over 15 ppb right now and 109 have gone over at some point. Merritt Township's 1 ppb sits at the 48th percentile in Michigan and the 54th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Bay County
20 other systems share Bay County; 8 of them have a higher latest lead result than Merritt Township. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Bay City, City Of | 32,255 | 8 ppb |
| Bangor Township | 11,999 | 1.3 ppb |
| Hampton Township | 9,652 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bay Co. Dept Of Water & Sewer | 8,465 | 3.5 ppb |
| Williams Township | 5,444 | 0 (not detected) |
| Monitor Township | 5,217 | 0 (not detected) |
| Frankenlust Township | 3,626 | 1.4 ppb |
| Essexville, City Of | 3,478 | 0 (not detected) |
| Kawkawlin Township | 3,170 | 0 (not detected) |
| Bangor-Monitor Metro District | 2,971 | 0 (not detected) |
Next steps for Bay City, MI
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Bay City, MI 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 Merritt Township 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.