MILWAUKEE — A new report sheds light on the City of Milwaukee’s water quality, including levels of lead and copper that for the most part fall within federal standards despite low marks for infrastructure and operations.
The data presented Thursday by Milwaukee Water Works indicates the city’s water supply is compliant with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper rule; testing conducted in 2023 revealed a 90th percentile lead level of 5.3 parts per trillion; the EPA’s action level for lead in drinking water is 15 parts per billion.
Two test sites exceeded the action level. The highest level was on the 2400 block of North 47th Street in the city’s Uptown neighborhood where 20.3 ppb was reported on August 10th, 2023; the other on the 2400 block of North Pierce Street recorded a 16.3 ppb level on June 20th, 2023.
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The testing also showed seven polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compunds detected at levels below Wisconsin regulations, with no violations for detections of contaminants that exceed the Recommended Public Health Groundwater Standard or Health Advisory Level.
According to a statewide evaluation by the Wisconsin Waterworks Excellence Project (WWEP) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, MWW received A grades in water-quality health and communications, a B grade in financial sustainability, and a D grade in infrastructure. The 64.1 overall infrastructure mark noted there were 21.5 main and service breaks per 100 miles, resulting in 369,929.9 gallons of water lost.
As of February 20th, the city had already seen nearly 200 water main breaks in 2025, including one over the winter that lead to cars frozen in ice on the city’s east side.
READ MORE: Cars frozen to the ground on Milwaukee’s east side
The average age of a water main in the city is just under 65 years old.
Data also noted no Cryptosporidium was detected in any of the source water or finished drinking water samples collected in 2024. The microscopic protozoan originating from human and animal waste was the primarly culprit behind the 1993 Milwaukee outbreak that is believed to be the largest waterborne disease outbreak in documented United States history. Over 69 people died and 403,000 residents were affected by the outbreak, which led to around $508 million in repairs, upgrades and outreach efforts.
Milwaukee Water Works provides water to both city residents as well as those in 16 suburbs, or approximately 923,000 people.
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