North Branch, MN
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 3 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.
About North Branch
North Branch serves about 6,863 people through 2,650 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 groundwater, in Chisago County, Minnesota. EPA system ID: MN1130011; phone on file: 6517558578. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
North Branch's lead record
That is up 3 ppb from 0 ppb in the period ending 2020. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for North Branch is 3 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
How North Branch compares
Of the 966 Minnesota systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 7 are over 15 ppb right now and 48 have gone over at some point. North Branch's 3 ppb sits at the 85th percentile in Minnesota and the 83rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Chisago County
17 other systems share Chisago County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than North Branch. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Lindstrom | 4,938 | 2 ppb |
| Wyoming | 3,990 | 2 ppb |
| Chisago City | 3,745 | 0 (not detected) |
| Rush City | 3,339 | 3 ppb |
| Stacy | 1,593 | 0 (not detected) |
| Shafer | 1,165 | 0 (not detected) |
| Taylors Falls | 1,067 | 4 ppb |
| Harris | 400 | 0 (not detected) |
| Preserve At Birch Lake | 388 | 0 (not detected) |
| Center City | 305 | 1 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; North Branch, MN 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 North Branch 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.