States → Arkansas
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
Arkansas Drinking Water Quality
1,016 public water systems serve 3,049,400 people across Arkansas, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 1,016
- Water systems
- 53,437
- Total violations
- 94.5%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 33.1%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across Arkansas, 960 of 1,016 water systems (94.5%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 57 of 172 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 53,437
- Total EPA violations on record
- 40%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 94.5%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 33.1%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
1,016
Total Violations
53,437
Violation Rate
94.5%
PFAS Detection
33.1%
57 of 172 tested
Violation Composition
How Arkansas's 53,437 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (21,598) Monitoring/Reporting (31,839)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 1,016 | - |
| Population served | 3,049,400 | - |
| Total violations | 53,437 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 21,598 | 40.4% |
| Systems with violations | 960 | 94.5% |
| PFAS detection rate | 57 of 172 | 33.1% |
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
Central Arkansas Water
Little Rock, AR · 368,455 served
Fayetteville Waterworks
Fayetteville, AR · 116,398 served
Springdale Water Utilities
Springdale, AR · 98,948 served
Fort Smith Water Utilities
Fort Smith, AR · 86,209 served
Rogers Water Utilities
Rogers, AR · 81,443 served
Jonesboro Water System
Jonesboro, AR · 79,889 served
Hot Springs Utilities
Hot Springs, AR · 75,343 served
Conway Water System
Conway, AR · 64,008 served
Bentonville Water Utilities
Bentonville, AR · 51,250 served
Liberty Utilities
Pine Bluff, AR · 43,438 served
Bella Vista POA
Bella Vista, AR · 39,419 served
Jacksonville Waterworks
Jacksonville, AR · 32,875 served
Paragould Municipal Utilities
Paragould, AR · 31,188 served
Benton Waterworks
Benton, AR · 30,681 served
City Corporation
Russellville, AR · 29,260 served
Texarkana Water Utilities
Texarkana, AR · 29,233 served
Searcy Waterworks
Searcy, AR · 28,196 served
Centerton Waterworks
Centerton, AR · 27,243 served
Cabot Waterworks
Cabot, AR · 26,770 served
Vilonia Waterworks
Vilonia, AR · 24,690 served
Most Violations
#1 Oden-Pencil Bluff Water Assn Oden
855 #2 Hosanna Heights Water Mammoth Spring
644 #3 Norman Waterworks Norman
625 #4 Sdm Water Association Marshall
624 #5 Deer Water Association Deer
549 #6 Pickens Waterworks Pickens
543 #7 Pangburn Waterworks Pangburn
442 #8 Glenwood Water Department Glenwood
433 #9 Humphrey Waterworks Humphrey
432 #10 Blue Bell Cafe Story
415 #11 Danville Waterworks Danville
373 #12 Fouke Waterworks Fouke
370 #13 Cotton Plant Waterworks Cotton Plant
367 #14 Mount Ida Waterworks Mount Ida
363 #15 Greenwood Waterworks Greenwood
363 Counties in Arkansas
Pulaski
31 systems · 461,701 served
· 900 violations
Benton
58 systems · 374,691 served
· 2,082 violations
Washington
29 systems · 189,281 served
· 647 violations
Sebastian
21 systems · 127,973 served
· 1,403 violations
Faulkner
14 systems · 120,979 served
· 560 violations
Greene
7 systems · 119,804 served
· 164 violations
Garland
28 systems · 104,240 served
· 1,034 violations
Saline
14 systems · 86,989 served
· 550 violations
White
20 systems · 77,352 served
· 937 violations
Jefferson
14 systems · 66,046 served
· 497 violations
Pope
13 systems · 64,993 served
· 366 violations
Crawford
17 systems · 57,218 served
· 772 violations
Cleburne
8 systems · 55,790 served
· 183 violations
Crittenden
15 systems · 47,011 served
· 767 violations
Lonoke
14 systems · 43,740 served
· 495 violations
Mississippi
23 systems · 41,872 served
· 775 violations
Hot Spring
9 systems · 40,747 served
· 293 violations
Independence
14 systems · 39,969 served
· 409 violations
Union
27 systems · 39,601 served
· 1,255 violations
Baxter
55 systems · 39,134 served
· 2,535 violations
Poinsett
11 systems · 35,587 served
· 275 violations
Grant
10 systems · 35,368 served
· 83 violations
Miller
12 systems · 32,038 served
· 717 violations
Johnson
12 systems · 31,064 served
· 333 violations
Logan
18 systems · 29,464 served
· 1,435 violations
Arkansas
11 systems · 28,761 served
· 646 violations
Boone
17 systems · 25,879 served
· 688 violations
Carroll
48 systems · 25,496 served
· 2,096 violations
Ouachita
12 systems · 24,786 served
· 835 violations
Columbia
15 systems · 23,425 served
· 1,012 violations
Showing top 30 of 75 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in Arkansas? ▼
Arkansas has 1,016 public water systems serving approximately 3,049,400 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 Arkansas? ▼
Arkansas has 53,437 total drinking water violations on record, with 21,598 classified as health-based violations. 94.5% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Arkansas drinking water? ▼
Of 172 water systems tested for PFAS in Arkansas, 57 had PFAS detected, a 33.1% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Arkansas water systems? ▼
Arkansas's violation rate is 94.5%. 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 Arkansas 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.