Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo Water Quality
Every drop is groundwater. The 2025 report meets every standard, with low arsenic, lead lines still being replaced and PFAS detected under Michigan's limits.
All groundwater · arsenic 7.8 ppb · lead 90th pct 3 and 5 ppb · about 2,866 lead lines left · five PFAS under state limits.
The short answer
Kalamazoo's water is 100% groundwater, from about 90 wells, with chlorine, fluoride and a phosphate added. The City says its 2025 water met every state and federal standard. Arsenic was 7.8 ppb against a 10 ppb limit.
Lead was 3 ppb and 5 ppb at the 90th percentile in the two 2025 monitoring periods, under the 12 ppb action level, and about 2,866 lead service lines remain to be replaced. Five PFAS compounds were detected, all under Michigan's limits.
Get a free test
Tell us your Kalamazoo address. We confirm coverage first, then schedule a licensed technician to test at your tap — no charge, no obligation.
What filtration does — and does not
Groundwater brings its own questions: arsenic and iron from the ground, and lead from older service lines.
Where Kalamazoo water comes from
Source, treatment and system size named in the City of Kalamazoo's 2025 Water Quality Report.
Groundwater only
The City of Kalamazoo describes its system as the largest all-groundwater supply in Michigan, pumped from about 90 wells in protected well fields.
Limited treatment
Pumping stations add chlorine for disinfection, fluoride (targeted at 0.7 mg/L) and a phosphate that helps control iron and corrosion in the pipes.
About 200,000 customers
The system serves roughly 200,000 customers across 11 jurisdictions, producing about 20 million gallons a day on average in 2025.
What the 2025 data actually says
Limits are fixed. Results are system figures from the City's tables, not a reading at your tap.
Arsenic: 7.8 ppb
Arsenic was detected at 7.8 ppb against a 10 ppb limit. The report notes the water meets the EPA standard but does contain low levels of arsenic, a naturally occurring mineral.
Lead: 3 and 5 ppb
Lead's 90th percentile was 3 ppb (January–June 2025) and 5 ppb (July–December 2025), under the 12 ppb action level. Two and then five samples were above it; the highest single result was 35 ppb.
About 2,866 lead lines
Of roughly 50,000 service lines, about 2,866 are known or assumed lead and scheduled for replacement. The City replaced 1,045 non-copper services in 2025.
PFAS: five detected, no violation
Five PFAS compounds were detected in 2025 monitoring, all below Michigan's limits. The highest single result in the table was 11 ppt. The City plans new PFAS and iron removal capability.
Disinfection byproducts low
Total trihalomethanes had a highest running annual average of 33.8 ppb (limit 80) and haloacetic acids 13.3 ppb (limit 60).
One reporting violation
The City sent its required service line notices but did not certify to the State by July 1, 2025 that it had done so. It certified as soon as it was notified; the report says this posed no health risk.
Kalamazoo next to Lansing, Ann Arbor and Des Moines
Lansing is the other groundwater city among our Michigan pages, drawing from the Saginaw Aquifer and softening at the plant. Kalamazoo adds limited treatment at its pumping stations instead, which is why arsenic and iron show up in its report.
Ann Arbor blends river and well water. Further west, Des Moines treats river water and runs nitrate removal, a very different set of numbers from Kalamazoo's 1.1 ppm nitrate.
Where these figures come from
Everything on this page traces to the City of Kalamazoo's 2025 Water Quality Report.
- City of Kalamazoo — 2025 Water Quality Report (PDF)
- The City offers free lead and copper testing and provides lead filters at no charge to homes with a lead or undefined service line.
Matching treatment to the finding
Arsenic, lead from service lines and groundwater minerals are the usual reasons Kalamazoo homeowners add treatment.
Filters certified for lead
The report recommends a filter certified by an ANSI-accredited body to reduce lead. If your service line is lead or unknown, the City provides lead filters at no charge.
Point-of-use RO for arsenic and PFAS
Under-sink reverse osmosis reduces arsenic and PFAS at the drinking tap. It treats the water you drink and cook with, not the whole house.
Iron and hardness
Groundwater can carry iron, which the City manages with phosphate today. A tap test shows whether staining or scale at your house justifies iron filtration or softening.
Know your service line
Kalamazoo offers free lead and copper testing and can help you find out whether your property has lead plumbing components.
How the free test works
A licensed technician tests at your kitchen tap, walks the plumbing, and tells you which of the findings above applies to your house and which does not. There is no charge and no obligation.
Seamless Home is the licensed contractor of record on the work that follows. Installation is performed by vetted installing partners engaged as our subcontractors, and the workmanship obligation stays with us. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What a water treatment job with us covers
Installation and replacement of whole-home and point-of-use treatment, specified against what your water actually contains.
Sediment filtration
Installation of the first stage that protects everything downstream of it, sized to the service line and the household draw.
Softening
Installation of ion-exchange softening where hardness is the problem, including the drain connection the plumbing code treats as indirect waste.
Carbon filtration
Installation of carbon stages for taste, odour and disinfection by-products, specified from your utility's own water quality report.
Reverse osmosis
Point-of-use installation at the kitchen sink where the target is dissolved solids rather than whole-home flow.
Disinfection
Installation of UV or equivalent treatment where the supply is a private well or is otherwise not continuously disinfected.
System replacement
Replacing equipment that has reached the end of its service life, including the discharge and air gap details an inspector looks at.
This is installation and replacement work, specified from a published water quality report or a test of your supply — not from a sales chart. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What the work actually looks like
Treatment equipment is plumbing. Most of the job is the connection, the drain and the code detail behind it.
Kalamazoo water, answered plainly
Where does Kalamazoo get its water?+
Entirely from groundwater. The City of Kalamazoo describes its system as the largest all-groundwater supply in Michigan, with about 90 wells.
Is there arsenic in Kalamazoo water?+
Yes, at low levels. The 2025 report shows 7.8 ppb against the 10 ppb federal limit. The water meets the standard; the report includes the EPA's note that arsenic is naturally occurring and is linked to health effects at higher concentrations.
What were Kalamazoo's 2025 lead results?+
The 90th percentile was 3 ppb for January–June 2025 and 5 ppb for July–December 2025, under the 12 ppb action level that took effect January 1, 2025. Individual results ranged up to 21 and 35 ppb.
How many lead service lines are left?+
About 2,866 known or assumed lead lines, out of roughly 50,000 service lines. The City replaced 1,045 non-copper services in 2025 and continues in 2026.
Does Kalamazoo water have PFAS?+
Five PFAS compounds were detected in 2025, all below Michigan's limits, with no violation. The highest single result in the table was 11 ppt.
Where do these figures come from?+
From the City of Kalamazoo's 2025 Water Quality Report. Third-party aggregators are not used.
Related resources
Home water purification and treatment
The national service page behind this one.
Learn more →Lansing water quality
Saginaw Aquifer wells, softened at the plant, no PFAS detected.
Learn more →Ann Arbor water quality
Huron River and wells, softened at the plant, with carbon filters for PFAS.
Learn more →Detroit water quality
Detroit River water and about 75,000 lead lines left.
Learn more →All home services
Water, battery, HVAC and solar under one licensed contractor of record.
Learn more →Get a free test at your tap
A licensed technician tests at your kitchen tap and tells you which findings apply to your house — arsenic, lead from the service line, or iron and hardness. No charge, no obligation, and coverage confirmed at your address first.
Get a free test