Water
Illinois
IRSHow far small community water systems have come on their service line inventories, state by state. Every figure is an exact count of what states have reported to EPA. Nothing is estimated or rounded except the percentages, shown to one decimal place.
All states and agencies
active community water systems, all sizes
serve 10,000 people or fewer; 39,745 of them serve 3,300 or fewer
service lines reported by those small systems
still lead status unknown: 21.8% of lines reported
| Category | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 138,536 |
| Galvanized requiring replacement | 287,243 |
| Lead status unknown | 4,325,243 |
| Non-lead | 15,111,605 |
| Total reported | 19,862,627 |
What stands out
| Measure | Count |
|---|---|
| Small systems reporting at least one lead, galvanized or unknown line | 15,431 |
| Small systems reporting at least one unknown line | 13,918 |
| Small systems with no service line counts in EPA's records | 3,217 |
| Small systems cited for the 2024 initial inventory (code 2E) | 4,574 |
| Of those, still in violation on October 13, 2026 | 1,544 |
The 15 states with the most small systems
Community water systems serving 10,000 people or fewer. The full list of 66 states, territories, the Navajo Nation and EPA regions is in the CSV. GRR means galvanized requiring replacement.
| State | Small systems | Serving 3,300 or fewer | Lines reported | Still unknown | Unknown share | With lead, GRR or unknown lines | Cited for 2024 inventory (2E) | Still in violation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 4,338 | 3,580 | 2,309,256 | 234,858 | 10.2% | 1,145 | 1,010 | 247 |
| California | 2,370 | 2,161 | 737,600 | 101,904 | 13.8% | 338 | 461 | 436 |
| Washington | 2,178 | 2,076 | 481,729 | 73,123 | 15.2% | 650 | 0 | 0 |
| New York | 2,097 | 1,948 | 604,592 | 172,118 | 28.5% | 748 | 27 | 27 |
| North Carolina | 1,828 | 1,699 | 615,298 | 166,220 | 27.0% | 739 | 276 | 24 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,704 | 1,517 | 737,362 | 327,629 | 44.4% | 773 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia | 1,615 | 1,492 | 518,185 | 116,109 | 22.4% | 425 | 0 | 0 |
| Illinois | 1,562 | 1,340 | 970,880 | 129,847 | 13.4% | 404 | 138 | 50 |
| Missouri | 1,354 | 1,222 | 641,372 | 247,642 | 38.6% | 715 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida | 1,340 | 1,208 | 538,201 | 82,898 | 15.4% | 322 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 1,238 | 1,089 | 622,953 | 56,340 | 9.0% | 292 | 134 | 23 |
| Iowa | 1,031 | 943 | 470,490 | 65,080 | 13.8% | 467 | 0 | 0 |
| Virginia | 985 | 905 | 373,028 | 86,328 | 23.1% | 439 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio | 966 | 809 | 637,758 | 183,055 | 28.7% | 351 | 129 | 16 |
| Colorado | 962 | 883 | 310,100 | 36,475 | 11.8% | 129 | 42 | 12 |
| All states and agencies | 44,741 | 39,745 | 19,862,627 | 4,325,243 | 21.8% | 15,431 | 4,574 | 1,544 |
Read these numbers with care
- These are the counts states have reported to EPA. A system can be further along than its federal record shows.
- 27 of the 66 states and agencies show no 2E violations at all, including Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Missouri and Florida. That most likely reflects how those states report, not that every system met the deadline.
- EPA's 2024 compliance report counted 3,902 systems of all types with this violation. EPA's database now holds more 2E records, most likely because states kept reporting after that report was compiled.
- The unknown share is calculated from systems that reported a total line count. 3,217 small systems have no counts in the federal record, and 867 reported some categories but not all.
- This snapshot is not a finding about any system.
Method
Systems. Every active community water system (49,342) from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System, through the free Envirofacts service. "Small" means a population served of 10,000 or fewer, as recorded by EPA.
Service lines. The Service Line Inventory report in EPA's SDWIS Federal Reports, submission quarter 2026Q3.
Violations. Every SDWIS violation with code 2E, a lead service line inventory treatment technique violation, including failure to complete the initial inventory by October 16, 2024. "Still in violation" means compliance status Open or Known (Envirofacts 2E count; SDWIS data dictionary).
States. Systems are grouped by the agency that regulates them, the first two characters of the PWSID. Each system and each line is counted once, as reported. Raw pulls and the counting script are available on request.
See where your system stands, well before November 1, 2027.
Send your PWSID, or your system name and state. Within 2 business days you get a one-page snapshot from your EPA record, like the samples above. Ask for the full gap check and we add your state's published inventory and sort your unknown lines by the cheapest way to settle each. Both are free.
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