Sparta, MI
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 2.15 ppb (monitoring period 2024-2026). 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 Sparta
Sparta serves about 4,140 people through 1,404 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 Kent County, Michigan. EPA system ID: MI0006200; phone on file: 616-887-8251. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Sparta's lead record
Against the period ending 2023 (2.28 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Sparta is 2.28 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.15 ppb |
| 2023 | 2.28 ppb |
| 2020 | 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. Sparta's 2.15 ppb sits at the 70th percentile in Michigan and the 74th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Kent County
42 other systems share Kent County; 12 of them have a higher latest lead result than Sparta. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids | 306,901 | 6.98 ppb |
| Wyoming | 76,501 | 1.7 ppb |
| Plainfield Township | 42,271 | 1.5 ppb |
| Byron-Gaines Utility Authority | 37,464 | 1.6 ppb |
| Kentwood | 36,072 | 2.99 ppb |
| Grandville | 15,948 | 0 (not detected) |
| East Grand Rapids | 11,637 | 10.1 ppb |
| Ada Township | 7,584 | 0 (not detected) |
| Rockford | 7,160 | 0 (not detected) |
| Caledonia Township | 4,573 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Sparta, 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 Sparta 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. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.