Lead service line notice
Got a letter about lead in your water line?
Your city will replace the line in the years ahead. You can protect the water your family drinks this week, starting with a free in-home water test.
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- NSF/ANSI 53 certified lead filtration
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Decode your letter
Three words the city uses, and what each one means
Lead
Your line is known lead. Treat the water now; the city will schedule the replacement.
Unknown
Nobody has verified the material yet. Until they do, treat it as lead.
Non-lead
Good news. Older fixtures and solder can still add lead, so a test is worth it.
Not sure what yours says? Look up your address
What the letter means
Every Minnesota water system had to inventory the pipe that connects each home to the water main. Your letter is the result for your address: the line is lead, it's galvanized, or nobody knows yet. The city will replace lead lines over the coming years. Until then, the lead sits between the main and your kitchen tap, and what you do at the tap is what protects your family.
Four things to do this week
Flush before you drink
If a tap hasn't run in six hours, let cold water run at least a minute first. With a lead line, MDH says that can take 3 to 5 minutes.
Cold water only
Use cold water for drinking, cooking, and baby formula. Hot water pulls more lead out of pipes than cold.
Protect the little ones first
There is no safe level of lead. Babies, kids under six, and pregnant women are at the highest risk.
Filter at the tap
Boiling does nothing for lead. A filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 for lead reduction does. Softeners don't count.
Guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health. Source: Lead in Drinking Water, MDH.
~90,000
Minnesota service lines confirmed lead
200,000+
lines still marked unknown
2033
state goal to replace them all
Minnesota Department of Health statewide inventory figures, Nov 2024 release and 2025 legislative update.
Free in-home water test
Know what's in your water before you spend a dollar on it
A Finken water specialist comes to your home, letter in hand, and leaves you knowing exactly where you stand. No cost, no obligation, no pressure.
- 1
We look up your line with you
Bring your letter. We'll pull up your address on the state inventory and explain exactly what it says.
- 2
We test your tap water
Hardness, iron, pH, chlorine, and the other things that change what the right filter is. If you want a lab-certified lead number, we'll point you to an accredited lab.
- 3
You see the options and the prices
From a drinking-water system under the sink to whole-house filtration. Nothing gets installed until you say so.
Schedule your free water test
Takes about a minute. We call you back within one business day.
Lead filtration
Two ways to take lead out of your water
Filter the tap you drink from, or filter every tap in the house. Many families with a lead or unknown line do both.
At the kitchen tap: reverse osmosis
The standard answer for lead in drinking water. A reverse osmosis system under the sink feeds a dedicated faucet for drinking, cooking, coffee, and formula. Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification for lead reduction.
Every tap: whole-house filtration
Installed where the water enters the house, so showers, bathroom sinks, and the ice maker are covered too. The PIONEER filter is certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead and also handles PFAS, chlorine, and cysts.
Whole-house lead filter
PIONEER™ Lead, PFAS & Chemical Filter
- Certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for lead, cyst, and material safety
- Removes lead, PFAS, chlorine, and cysts at the point of entry
- 100,000 gallons or one year per filter
Reverse osmosis drinking water systems
PureChoice Central Reverse Osmosis
Multiple Locations with Clean Purified Water. Sinks, Wet Bars, Humidifiers
PureChoice 435 Reverse Osmosis
High Output Purified Water with Long-Term Affordability (Most Popular)
Max Flow
Low Priced Purified Water At The Tap
PC-4 Reverse Osmosis
Reliable and Affordable system for Smaller Households
No letter yet?
Look up your address on the state map
The Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota publish every water system's inventory on one map. Type your address and it shows the same three symbols your neighbors' letters are based on. Homes built before 1940 are the most likely to have a lead line.
Open the Minnesota mapOpens maps.umn.edu. Inventories update as cities verify unknown lines, so check back if yours says unknown.
How to read the map
- Lead — red marker, confirmed lead
- Unknown — question mark, not yet verified
- Non-lead — blue check, copper or plastic
Whatever it says, we'll walk through it with you at your free test. Schedule it
Lead Service Line Questions
Will the city replace my lead service line?
Yes. Minnesota set a goal of finding and replacing every lead service line in the state by 2033, and each water system sets its own schedule. You may own the section of line on your property, so coordinate with your utility before any work. Until it's replaced, treat the water at your tap.
My letter says "unknown." What should I do?
Treat it as lead until the city confirms otherwise. Unknown means nobody has verified the material yet, and the homes around you may already be confirmed lead. Flush, use cold water, and consider a certified filter now rather than waiting for the verification.
Is my water safe to drink in the meantime?
There is no safe level of lead, and the risk is highest for babies, young children, and pregnant women. Flushing and cold water reduce exposure. A reverse osmosis or lead-certified filter at the kitchen tap removes it from the water you actually drink.
Does my water softener remove lead?
No. A softener treats hardness, not lead. You need a reverse osmosis system or a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 for lead reduction. Many homes run both: the softener for the house, the filter for the drinking tap.
Does boiling water remove lead?
No. Boiling kills germs but leaves lead behind, and as the water boils off the lead gets more concentrated. Filter it instead.
What does the free water test cost, and is there a catch?
Nothing, and no. A Finken specialist tests your water at the kitchen tap, walks through your letter with you, and shows you options with prices. You decide what, if anything, to do next.
How do I know this isn't a scam?
The Minnesota Department of Health warns that unsolicited calls or texts about lead lines asking for personal information are usually scams. Finken is a family-owned Minnesota company since 1961 with eight local stores. We never ask for payment details to schedule a free test, and you can call our St. Cloud office directly to confirm any appointment.
Don't wait for the replacement crew
The line gets fixed on the city's schedule. Your drinking water can be fixed this month.
Worried about PFAS too? The same whole-house filter handles both