New Buffalo Township, MI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2 ppb (monitoring period 2020-2022). 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.
About New Buffalo Township
New Buffalo Township serves about 2,845 people through 995 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 Berrien County, Michigan. EPA system ID: MI0004685; phone on file: 269-469-1011. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2019 (1.7 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for New Buffalo Township is 2.4 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 ppb |
| 2019 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2016 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2016 | 2.4 ppb |
How New Buffalo Township 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. New Buffalo Township's 2 ppb sits at the 67th percentile in Michigan and the 72nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
34 other systems share Berrien County; 13 of them have a higher latest lead result than New Buffalo Township. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Michigan Regional Sanitary Sew | 26,780 | 1.1 ppb |
| Niles | 14,215 | 2 ppb |
| Benton Harbor | 9,103 | 0.8 ppb |
| St Joseph | 7,930 | 4 ppb |
| Benton Charter Township | 6,768 | 0 (not detected) |
| Buchanan | 4,871 | 3 ppb |
| Lake Charter Township | 4,177 | 1.5 ppb |
| Andrews University | 3,000 | 1 ppb |
| Chikaming Township | 2,825 | 1.51 ppb |
| Watervliet | 2,735 | 0.8 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; New Buffalo, 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 New Buffalo 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. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.