Is Dearborn Heights, MI tap water safe?
Supplied by Dearborn Heights Water System · serves 57,774 people (24,400 connections) · Purchased surface water · EPA ID MI0001740
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Buys water from Great Lakes Water Authority. Treated water bought from another system can carry that system's contaminants.
Summary
An unresolved health-based violation.
Is it an emergency? No: these findings are about longer-term exposure, and nothing in EPA's data calls for you to stop drinking the water today. If your utility ever issues a boil-water or do-not-drink notice, follow it.
- PFAS
- Not detectedNone of 29 PFAS found above EPA's reporting limits in 4 samples (2023–2025).
- Lead
- Below action level0 ppb (parts per billion) at the 90th percentile: 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below it. Action level 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in Nov 2027. Monitoring period ending Dec 2025. Your home's pipes can make yours higher.
- Violations
- 1 unresolved2 health-based violations since 2016, most recently Oct 2024.
- Built before 1986, or not sure what your service line is made of? Check your service line and test your tap. Utility data can't show your pipes.
- Tested your own tap? Compare your result with these numbers. Moving? Compare this system with another.
- Read Dearborn Heights Water System's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report). It lists every regulated contaminant tested and is usually on the utility's website or mailed with your bill, and you can also request it at (313) 791-6006. EPA: how to find it.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 1 entry point tested May 2023 to Mar 2024. "Average" is the highest entry-point average (non-detects counted as zero), the way EPA compares UCMR 5 results to the limits. ppt = parts per trillion. These results do not determine compliance.
| Contaminant | Highest average |
|---|---|
| PFOA Not detected Limit 4 ppt | – |
| PFOS Not detected Limit 4 ppt | – |
| PFHxS Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| PFNA Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| Hazard Index (a combined score for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS, where above 1 is over the limit) Not detected Limit 1 | – |
| PFBS Not detected Guideline 2,000 ppt | – |
| PFBA Not detected Guideline 6,000 ppt | – |
| PFHxA Not detected Guideline 3,000 ppt | – |
Michigan has its own PFAS limits. PFNA 6 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected), PFOA 8 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected), PFHxA 400000 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected), PFOS 16 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected), PFHxS 51 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected), PFBS 420 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected), HFPO-DA 370 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected). State compliance is judged on the state's own sampling, so ask the utility or the state program whether it meets them.
29 PFAS tested, 0 detected at least once. "Not detected" means below EPA's reporting limit (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical), not proven zero. PFAS not listed were not detected. The limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and the Hazard Index were proposed for rescission in May 2026. That proposal is not final. Systems have until 2029 to meet the limits.
Lithium
Not detected in 4 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 0 ppb lead (Jan 2025 – Dec 2025). Below action level
Highest since 2016: 34 ppb (Dec 2019).
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2025 – Dec 2025 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 2024 – Dec 2024 | 0.9 ppb |
| Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 | 1.7 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jan 2022 – Dec 2022 | 1.8 ppb |
| Jan 2021 – Jun 2021 | 3.99 ppb |
| Jul 2020 – Dec 2020 | 8 ppb |
| Jan 2020 – Jun 2020 | 16.8 ppb |
| Jan 2019 – Dec 2019 | 34 ppb |
| Jan 2015 – Dec 2017 | 4.79 ppb |
| Jan 2012 – Dec 2014 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 2009 – Dec 2011 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 2006 – Dec 2008 | 0 ppb |
Lead comes from pipes and fixtures, not the source water, so it varies home to home. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 sampled homes were at or below it. More on lead.
Violations
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | The system did not publish the required inventory of lead service lines (due October 2024). It says nothing about lead levels in the water. EPA record: Lead and copper rule revisions · LSL Inventory Unaddressed |
| Aug 2020 | After high lead results, the system did not give customers the required information about lead. EPA record: Lead and Copper Rule · Public Education (limit TT ) Resolved |
2 unresolved monitoring or reporting violations: Public Notice, Lead and copper rule revisions.
Health-based violations mean a contaminant exceeded a limit or a required treatment step was missed. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or reports were late or missing, so the water's quality during that time is unknown. The total includes every violation in EPA's records, most of them paperwork.
Earlier EPA testing (2013–2020)
| Contaminant | Highest | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 1.2 ppb | 300 ppb |
| Vanadium | 0.72 ppb | 21 ppb |
| Chromium-6 | 0.14 ppb | – |
| Strontium | 0.11 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
Where it serves
Dearborn Heights
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 48125, 48127
Nearby utilities
- Dearborn Water System Dearborn · 4 mi
- Livonia Water System Livonia · 6 mi
- Taylor Water System Taylor · 8 mi
- Southfield Water System Southfield · 10 mi
- City of Detroit Detroit · 10 mi
- Canton Township Water System Canton charter · 10 mi
Questions
Is Dearborn Heights tap water safe to drink?
Most of Dearborn Heights gets its water from Dearborn Heights Water System. Dearborn Heights Water System has 1 unresolved health-based violation on record. EPA testing found no PFAS above the federal limits. Federal data can't tell you about your own pipes: lead comes from service lines and plumbing, so test your tap if your home was built before 1986. For the official word, read the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Does Dearborn Heights water have PFAS?
EPA tested Dearborn Heights Water System for 29 PFAS between May 2023 and Mar 2024 and none were detected above the reporting limits (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical).
What is the lead level in Dearborn Heights water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for Dearborn Heights Water System is 0 ppb, for the period ending Dec 2025. The federal action level is 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in November 2027. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below this number. Individual homes can be higher.
Check these numbers yourself
Every figure on this page comes from public EPA records. You don't have to take our word for it:
- EPA's own report for MI0001740: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID MI0001740).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- The utility's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report): ask Dearborn Heights Water System at (313) 791-6006, or see EPA's guide to finding it.
Found something that doesn't match? Tell us and we'll check it against EPA's records. How we check our data.
Source: U.S. EPA drinking water records and PFAS testing (UCMR 5). How we read the data.