River Rouge, MI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 5.7 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. 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 River Rouge
River Rouge serves about 7,224 people through 3,025 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 surface water, in Wayne County, Michigan. EPA system ID: MI0005690; phone on file: 313-757-4803. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
River Rouge's lead record
That is down 7.5 ppb from 13.2 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for River Rouge is 13.2 ppb across 11 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 5.7 ppb |
| 2025 | 13.2 ppb over 10 |
| 2024 | 8.1 ppb |
| 2023 | 4.3 ppb |
| 2022 | 6.8 ppb |
| 2021 | 8.54 ppb |
| 2020 | 5.11 ppb |
| 2019 | 6.24 ppb |
| 2018 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
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. River Rouge's 5.7 ppb sits at the 90th percentile in Michigan and the 92nd nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Wayne County
43 other systems share Wayne County; 11 of them have a higher latest lead result than River Rouge. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit City Of | 633,218 | 7.5 ppb |
| Dearborn | 109,976 | 6 ppb |
| Canton Township | 99,627 | 0 (not detected) |
| Livonia | 96,942 | 0 (not detected) |
| Westland | 85,420 | 0 (not detected) |
| Taylor | 63,409 | 10.7 ppb |
| Dearborn Heights | 57,774 | 0 (not detected) |
| Redford Township | 49,504 | 8.2 ppb |
| Lincoln Park | 38,144 | 3.1 ppb |
| Brownstown Township | 33,194 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; River Rouge, 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 River Rouge 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. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.