Muskegon Heights, MI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.8 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). 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.
Who runs the water here
Muskegon Heights serves about 9,917 people through 5,124 service connections, which makes it a medium-sized system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Muskegon County, Michigan. EPA system ID: MI0004580; phone on file: 231-733-8900. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Muskegon Heights's lead record
Against the period ending 2020 (2.57 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Muskegon Heights is 3 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 2.8 ppb |
| 2020 | 2.57 ppb |
| 2019 | 3 ppb |
| 2017 | 3 ppb |
How Muskegon Heights compares
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. Muskegon Heights's 2.8 ppb sits at the 73rd percentile in Michigan and the 80th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Muskegon County
23 other systems share Muskegon County; 6 of them have a higher latest lead result than Muskegon Heights. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Muskegon | 37,213 | 5.4 ppb |
| Norton Shores | 23,994 | 2.1 ppb |
| Fruitport Township | 9,355 | 11.7 ppb |
| Muskegon Co Eastside Water System | 7,135 | 4.1 ppb |
| Musk Co Northside Water System | 5,133 | 2 ppb |
| Roosevelt Park | 4,172 | 1.9 ppb |
| North Muskegon | 3,786 | 6.5 ppb |
| Whitehall | 2,902 | 2 ppb |
| Montague | 2,479 | 3 ppb |
| Arlington Woods | 1,650 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Muskegon Heights, 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 Muskegon Heights 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. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.