Anoka County tap water: hardness, PFAS and lead

Anoka County, Minnesota has about 376,840 residents (Census 2024 estimate) and 30 community water systems in EPA records. The largest local system is Blaine, serving about 70,220 people from groundwater.

✓ 0 of 6 largest systems with health-based violationsPFAS detected at 6 of 6 sampled systemsHardness 10.9 gpg (low confidence)

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

How hard is Anoka County water?

Blaine Estimate: untreated local water, not your tap · Low confidence

10.9 gpg (186 mg/L), very hard

Anoka County: median of 2,298 results from 165 monitoring sites (streams and wells). Utilities may blend or treat water, so your tap can differ.

Source: Hard Water Map county data, samples through 2025

County estimates: Hard Water Map (hardwatermap.com), CC BY 4.0, derived from the USGS/EPA Water Quality Portal; file generated 2026-07-22. License

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Softener size at 10.9 gpg

For a 3-person home using 57 gallons per person per day and regenerating weekly, you'd remove about 13,047 grains between regenerations. Suggested size: 24,000 grain. This uses a low-confidence county estimate, so confirm with a test first.

Estimate only. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Open the softener calculator with 10.9 gpg

Largest water systems in Anoka County

The 6 biggest of 30 community water systems on EPA records for this county. Service areas don't follow county lines; your water bill names your provider.

Blaine

MN1020006 · serves about 70,220 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2024-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 25.2 ppt (6 of 16 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Coon Rapids

MN1020017 · serves about 63,599 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2024-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 42.8 ppt (8 of 18 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Fridley

MN1020031 · serves about 27,476 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 9.5 ppt (3 of 6 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Columbia Heights

MN1020016 · serves about 22,278 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 12.4 ppt (4 of 4 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Andover

MN1020034 · serves about 21,455 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2026-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 11.1 ppt (2 of 6 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Lino Lakes

MN1020023 · serves about 18,608 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: 2 ppb (period starting 2021-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 44.8 ppt (6 of 10 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

A PFAS detection is not a violation. Federal limits (4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS) apply to running annual averages, with compliance required by 2029. In May 2026 EPA proposed extending the PFOA/PFOS deadline to 2031 and removing other PFAS limits; not final as of 2026-10-21.

Test your own tap

These are public records for whole systems. Your home's pipes, fixtures and any private well can change what you drink. A certified lab test or a hardness test strip gives you your own numbers. Then use our PFAS and lead filter selector to see which certifications to look for.

Common questions about Anoka County water

Is tap water in Anoka County safe to drink?

None of the 6 largest systems here have a health-based violation in EPA records since October 2021. Blaine's most recent lead 90th percentile was below the lab detection limit (2024), below the 15 ppb action level. Public records can't guarantee what comes out of your tap, especially with older plumbing, so a home test is the surest check.

How hard is the water in Anoka County?

There's no published utility figure in our data, but untreated local stream and well samples in Anoka County have a median of about 10.9 grains per gallon (186 mg/L, very hard). That's a low-confidence estimate of source water, not your tap, so test before you buy equipment. For a 3-person home at 10.9 gpg, our softener calculator suggests a 24,000 grain unit as a starting point.

Is there PFAS in Anoka County water?

6 of the 6 sampled systems listed here detected at least one PFAS in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. A detection isn't a violation: federal PFAS limits apply to running annual averages starting in 2029.

Which water system serves my address in Anoka County?

Most homes are served by Blaine or one of the other systems listed on this page, but service areas don't follow county lines. Your water bill names your provider, and its annual Consumer Confidence Report has the full test results.

More Minnesota counties

Sources for this page

Data as of October 21, 2026. Figures are copied from public records and combined with our own calculations; they can be out of date or wrong. Tapped Out isn't affiliated with any utility or the EPA. Written and reviewed by the Tapped Out team. How we calculate · All sources.