St. Louis County Water Quality: 3 Cities Ranked by the Records
St. Louis County, Minnesota: 3 city reports built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.
Highest result for each contaminant
One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.
Lead (90th percentile)Detected in 2 systems of 3 tested15 µg/L federal action level · US EPAHighest14 µg/L
- Hibbing14 µg/LMonitoring period: 2026–2026 (still open)
- Duluth8 µg/LMonitoring period: 2023–2025
- HermantownNot detectedMonitoring period: 2022–2024
30 substances tested, none detected in any systemShow
Tested in these 3 systems: Duluth, Hermantown, Hibbing
- 11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
- 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
- 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
- 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
- 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
- 9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
- Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
- Lithium
- N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
- N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
- Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
- Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
- Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
- Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
- Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
- Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
- Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
- Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
- Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
- Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
- Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
- Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
- Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
- Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
- Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)
- Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
- Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
- Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)
Cities ranked by the records
Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.
0of 3 cities above the 15 µg/L action level
Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.
Lead in MinnesotaLargest water systems
- DuluthDuluth · MN169001186,859 served
- HibbingHibbing · MN169002216,028 served
- HermantownHermantown · MN16900437,215 served
Frequently asked
How does St. Louis County tap water compare across cities?
PurityMap ranks 3 cities in St. Louis County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Hermantown's main water system: Hermantown · PWSID MN1690043 · Purity Score 100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.
How many St. Louis County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?
None of the 3 St. Louis County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. PFAS were detected below the limit in 0.
Is there lead in St. Louis County tap water?
Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 2 of 3 St. Louis County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.
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