Kotzebue is one of only two communities in Alaska whose drinking water is currently over the federal limit for lead, according to state officials.
The city collected water samples from 10 homes during a routine check in August. Two came back above the Environmental Protection Agency’s lead action level of 15 parts per billion, which triggers extra testing, public notice and a review of how the water is treated.
“The water is safe to drink; it is just related to those two locations,” said Cindy Christian, who manages the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Drinking Water Program.
Christian said the lead most likely comes from older fixtures in individual homes.
“Lead is usually leached from fixtures, and in Alaska, those fixtures are usually like kitchen faucets that were manufactured prior to 2014,” she said.
That was the year a federal law sharply limited how much lead can be in plumbing products, including fittings, solder and faucets. Christian said checking your home’s plumbing fixtures is a good start.
“If people are concerned about high lead levels, the best thing they can do is have a look at their faucets and make sure that they have faucets that are newer,” she said.
How do I know my home plumbing fixtures are lead-free?
Because of the results, the city is doubling the number of homes it tests from 10 to 20 and will test twice a year instead of once. Christian said DEC is helping the city adjust how it treats water.
Lead can have serious effects on health. It is most dangerous for young children and pregnant women. In children, it can lower IQ and cause learning and behavior problems. In adults, it's linked to high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney problems.
The EPA currently doesn’t require additional action until lead reaches a certain level in drinking water, but the agency says there is no safe level of lead.
Christian said Kotzebue hasn’t gone over the lead limit in past testing.
“I did look back through all of their previous testing, and they do have to test annually, and they haven't exceeded any lead levels,” she said. “This year was kind of unique.”
City officials said the water source itself likely caused the issues with lead. In a written statement, officials said Vortac Lake, one of Kotzebue’s two water sources, was pumped almost empty in summer 2025 ahead of planned repairs to its dam. Most of the water in the lake is now from last winter’s snowmelt. According to the city, that water has very low alkalinity, meaning it has little natural ability to neutralize acids.
Christian says the water can be more corrosive to older household plumbing – like brass faucets and solder – allowing lead to leach into water. The city has added more soda ash to municipal water to raise the alkalinity and reduce corrosion.
City and state officials said the city’s pipes are not a source of the lead. According to the city, Kotzebue’s water mains are plastic, specifically high-density polyethylene. Its service lines are either plastic or, on the older Lagoon and Swan Lake water loops, copper. A 2024 inventory found no known lead service lines in the system.
State and city officials say the lead isn’t related to Kotzebue's other water problems. Recent issues include high manganese, which turned tap water brown in 2024 and 2025, and disinfection byproducts — chemicals that form when chlorine reacts with natural materials in the water — which have exceeded federal limits every quarter from 2021 through early 2026, according to EPA records.
What residents can do
- Before using tap water for drinking, cooking or making baby formula, the city recommends running the cold tap until the water turns cold.
- Check your faucets. Faucets and fittings made before 2014 may contain lead.
- Boiling water does not remove lead.
- The city’s next round of lead testing is expected early next year, by the end of March. It’s looking for 20 volunteer homes, ideally ones built before 1986 with copper pipes, since those are more likely to have lead solder.
- To have your water tested or for additional questions, you can contact Matthew Lazarus at the Kotzebue water plant at 907-412-0081.
