Niagara Falls Water Board, NY
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5.9 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
Niagara Falls Water Board serves about 50,193 people through 19,500 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 Niagara County, New York. EPA system ID: NY3100568; phone on file: 716-283-9770. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
That is down 5.1 ppb from 11 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Niagara Falls Water Board is 11 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 5.9 ppb |
| 2020 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2017 | 10 ppb |
How Niagara Falls Water Board compares
Of the 2,077 New York systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 17 are over 15 ppb right now and 165 have gone over at some point. Niagara Falls Water Board's 5.9 ppb sits at the 89th percentile in New York and the 93rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
20 other systems share Niagara County; 5 of them have a higher latest lead result than Niagara Falls Water Board. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| North Tonawanda City | 31,568 | 5.7 ppb |
| Lockport City Wtp | 21,165 | 10 ppb |
| Lockport Town Wds | 21,105 | 1 ppb |
| Wheatfield Wd | 18,117 | 2 ppb |
| Lewiston Water Improvementarea | 16,257 | 1 ppb |
| Newfane Town Wds | 9,304 | 1 ppb |
| Niagara Water Improvement Area | 8,100 | 1 ppb |
| Royalton Townwide Water Dist. | 7,710 | 1 ppb |
| Porter Master Improvement Area | 6,920 | 1 ppb |
| Pendleton Town Wd | 6,050 | 6 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Niagara Falls, NY 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 Niagara Falls Water Board 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. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.