States → Alaska
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
Alaska Drinking Water Quality
1,326 public water systems serve 862,218 people across Alaska, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 1,326
- Water systems
- 267,144
- Total violations
- 97.9%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 33.3%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across Alaska, 1,298 of 1,326 water systems (97.9%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 10 of 30 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 267,144
- Total EPA violations on record
- 5%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 97.9%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 33.3%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
1,326
Total Violations
267,144
Violation Rate
97.9%
PFAS Detection
33.3%
10 of 30 tested
Violation Composition
How Alaska's 267,144 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (13,963) Monitoring/Reporting (253,181)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 1,326 | - |
| Population served | 862,218 | - |
| Total violations | 267,144 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 13,963 | 5.2% |
| Systems with violations | 1,298 | 97.9% |
| PFAS detection rate | 10 of 30 | 33.3% |
Health-based violations indicate the contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or treatment-technique requirement. Monitoring/reporting violations indicate procedural issues (missed tests, late reports) - not necessarily a contamination event.
Largest Water Systems
Moa Municipality of Anchorage
Anchorage, AK · 221,351 served
Golden Heart Utilities
Fairbanks, AK · 78,324 served
City and Borough of Juneau
Juneau, AK · 38,526 served
Jber-Elmendorf
Jber, AK · 30,003 served
College Utilities Corporation
Fairbanks, AK · 27,000 served
Doyon Utilities Jber - Richardson
Fairbanks, AK · 20,284 served
Ft Wainwright - Main Post
Fairbanks, AK · 20,076 served
Wasilla Water System
Wasilla, AK · 18,492 served
Skagway
Skagway, AK · 10,947 served
Eielson - Air Force Base
Eielson Afb, AK · 9,760 served
Kodiak Water System
Kodiak, AK · 9,547 served
Sitka
Sitka, AK · 9,448 served
Unalaska Water System
Unalaska, AK · 9,400 served
Ketchikan Public Utilities
Ketchikan, AK · 8,937 served
Palmer Water System
Palmer, AK · 8,111 served
Homer Water System
Homer, AK · 7,008 served
University of Alaska - Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK · 6,200 served
Kenai Water System
Kenai, AK · 5,700 served
Barrow Utilities & Elec. Coop., Inc. (Bu
Barrow, AK · 4,900 served
Soldotna
Soldotna, AK · 4,807 served
Most Violations
#1 Akhiok Akhiok
3,426 #2 Diomede Joint Utilities Diomide
3,125 #3 Native Village of Sleetmute Anchorage
2,494 #4 Alakanuk Water System Alakanuk
2,344 #5 Grayling Water System Grayling
2,201 #6 Selawik Safewater Facility Selawik
2,153 #7 Kongiganak Water System Kongiganak
2,150 #8 Forest Park Tc Chugiak
2,108 #9 Camp Creekside Seward
2,099 #10 Chenega Anchorage
2,091 #11 Mountain Village Water System Mountain Village
1,877 #12 Scammon Bay Water System Scammon Bay
1,869 #13 Shaktoolik Water System Shaktoolik
1,821 #14 Clarks Point Water System Clarks Point
1,771 #15 Wales Water System Wales
1,763 Counties in Alaska
Anchorage Municipality
156 systems · 305,331 served
· 22,461 violations
Fairbanks North Star Borough
65 systems · 160,456 served
· 6,815 violations
Matanuska-Susitna Borough
345 systems · 91,419 served
· 20,535 violations
Kenai Peninsula Borough
201 systems · 47,039 served
· 23,648 violations
Juneau City and Borough
11 systems · 40,575 served
· 2,414 violations
North Slope Borough
78 systems · 28,722 served
· 5,005 violations
Denali Borough
56 systems · 18,777 served
· 2,545 violations
Bethel Census Area
57 systems · 18,253 served
· 35,961 violations
County AK130
28 systems · 15,797 served
· 9,191 violations
Valdez-Cordova Census Area
53 systems · 14,940 served
· 11,666 violations
County AK230
13 systems · 14,199 served
· 3,732 violations
Kodiak Island Borough
15 systems · 14,105 served
· 10,789 violations
Aleutians West Census Area
8 systems · 10,909 served
· 6,431 violations
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
62 systems · 10,527 served
· 7,312 violations
Nome Census Area
17 systems · 10,325 served
· 18,055 violations
Sitka City and Borough
3 systems · 9,645 served
· 934 violations
Northwest Arctic Borough
16 systems · 8,887 served
· 11,683 violations
Wade Hampton Census Area
13 systems · 7,639 served
· 13,488 violations
Dillingham Census Area
24 systems · 6,913 served
· 10,869 violations
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
36 systems · 6,187 served
· 22,873 violations
County AK275
3 systems · 5,933 served
· 1,246 violations
Bristol Bay Borough
30 systems · 5,169 served
· 3,437 violations
Aleutians East Borough
8 systems · 4,402 served
· 4,617 violations
Haines Borough
5 systems · 2,798 served
· 768 violations
Lake and Peninsula Borough
16 systems · 2,235 served
· 9,945 violations
Yakutat City and Borough
3 systems · 833 served
· 626 violations
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in Alaska? ▼
Alaska has 1,326 public water systems serving approximately 862,218 people. These include community water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and transient non-community systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
How many drinking water violations are in Alaska? ▼
Alaska has 267,144 total drinking water violations on record, with 13,963 classified as health-based violations. 97.9% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Alaska drinking water? ▼
Of 30 water systems tested for PFAS in Alaska, 10 had PFAS detected, a 33.3% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Alaska water systems? ▼
Alaska's violation rate is 97.9%. This measures the percentage of public water systems that have at least one recorded violation in the EPA SDWIS database, including both health-based and monitoring/reporting violations.
Where does this Alaska water data come from? ▼
All drinking water data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS is the federal database that tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources & Methodology
Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial
Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.