Providence-City Of, RI
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.7 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
About Providence-City Of
Providence-City Of serves about 333,142 people through 79,554 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Providence County, Rhode Island. EPA system ID: RI1592024; phone on file: 401-521-6300. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Providence-City Of's lead record
Against the period ending 2026 (1.6 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Providence-City Of is 22 ppb across 22 monitoring periods, 5 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.7 ppb |
| 2026 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2025 | 1.6 ppb |
| 2024 | 3 ppb |
| 2024 | 2.2 ppb |
| 2023 | 2.2 ppb |
| 2023 | 3.4 ppb |
| 2022 | 3.3 ppb |
| 2022 | 5.6 ppb |
| 2021 | 10.5 ppb over 10 |
| 2021 | 8.8 ppb |
| 2020 | 16.8 ppb over 15 |
| 2020 | 10 ppb |
| 2019 | 16 ppb over 15 |
| 2019 | 10 ppb |
| 2018 | 22 ppb over 15 |
| 2018 | 11 ppb over 10 |
| 2017 | 16.7 ppb over 15 |
| 2017 | 14 ppb over 10 |
| 2016 | 16 ppb over 15 |
| 2016 | 13 ppb over 10 |
Against other Rhode Island systems
Of the 78 Rhode Island systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.1 ppb; 6 are over 15 ppb right now and 17 have gone over at some point. Providence-City Of's 1.7 ppb sits at the 62nd percentile in Rhode Island and the 67th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Providence County
24 other systems share Providence County; 6 of them have a higher latest lead result than Providence-City Of. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Pawtucket Water Supply Board Veolia-Na | 98,130 | 0 (not detected) |
| East Providence-City Of | 47,961 | 0.3 ppb |
| Woonsocket Water Division | 45,828 | 6.6 ppb |
| Lincoln Water Commission | 21,664 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cumberland, Town Of | 21,235 | 0 (not detected) |
| Greenville Water District | 9,500 | 0 (not detected) |
| Smithfield Water Supply Board | 9,460 | 0 (not detected) |
| Clear River Electric And Water District | 6,000 | 1.3 ppb |
| Slatersville Public Supply | 3,403 | 0 (not detected) |
| Dowling Village | 2,720 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Providence, RI 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 Providence-City Of 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. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.