Perham, 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.
Perham at a glance
Perham serves about 3,421 people through 1,515 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 Otter Tail County, Minnesota. EPA system ID: MN1560023. Ask the utility on your bill for your address in their service line inventory.
Perham's lead record
Against the period ending 2020 (2 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Perham is 3 ppb across 2 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
How Perham 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. Perham's 3 ppb sits at the 84th percentile in Minnesota and the 82nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
15 other systems share Otter Tail County; 3 of them have a higher latest lead result than Perham. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Fergus Falls | 14,194 | 8 ppb |
| Pelican Rapids | 2,577 | 7 ppb |
| New York Mills | 1,287 | 0 (not detected) |
| Parkers Prairie | 1,023 | 0 (not detected) |
| Battle Lake | 918 | 2 ppb |
| Henning | 851 | 0 (not detected) |
| Ottertail | 694 | 0 (not detected) |
| Underwood | 380 | 0 (not detected) |
| Vergas | 358 | 5 ppb |
| Deer Creek | 329 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Perham, 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 Perham 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. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.