States → Kansas
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
Kansas Drinking Water Quality
957 public water systems serve 2,894,673 people across Kansas, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 957
- Water systems
- 84,344
- Total violations
- 99.1%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 86.4%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across Kansas, 948 of 957 water systems (99.1%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 89 of 103 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 84,344
- Total EPA violations on record
- 40%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 99.1%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 86.4%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
957
Total Violations
84,344
Violation Rate
99.1%
PFAS Detection
86.4%
89 of 103 tested
Violation Composition
How Kansas's 84,344 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (33,424) Monitoring/Reporting (50,920)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 957 | - |
| Population served | 2,894,673 | - |
| Total violations | 84,344 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 33,424 | 39.6% |
| Systems with violations | 948 | 99.1% |
| PFAS detection rate | 89 of 103 | 86.4% |
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
Water District 1 of Johnson Co
Kansas City, KS · 482,000 served
Wichita, City Of
Wichita, KS · 395,699 served
Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
Kansas City, KS · 152,960 served
Olathe, City Of
Olathe, KS · 143,014 served
Topeka, City Of
Topeka, KS · 125,963 served
Lawrence, City Of
Lawrence, KS · 95,256 served
Manhattan, City Of
Manhattan, KS · 54,763 served
Salina, City Of
Salina, KS · 46,481 served
Hutchinson, City Of
Hutchinson, KS · 39,712 served
Leavenworth Water Department
Leavenworth, KS · 38,757 served
Frusi Water Treatment Plant
Fort Riley, KS · 35,784 served
Garden City, City Of
Garden City, KS · 35,126 served
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS · 35,000 served
Dodge City, City Of
Dodge City, KS · 27,104 served
Derby, City Of
Derby, KS · 25,413 served
Emporia, City Of
Emporia, KS · 24,009 served
Gardner, City Of
Gardner, KS · 23,942 served
Hays, City Of
Hays, KS · 21,040 served
Pittsburg, City Of
Pittsburg, KS · 20,738 served
Liberal, City Of
Liberal, KS · 19,640 served
Most Violations
#1 Severy, City Of Severy
1,224 #2 Elk City, City Of Elk City
1,064 #3 Longton, City Of Longton
751 #4 Pretty Prairie, City Of Pretty Prairie
704 #5 Norwich, City Of Norwich
694 #6 Country View Mobile Home Park Hays
684 #7 Mitchell Co RWD 2 Glen Elder
519 #8 Cedar Point, City Of Cedar Point
505 #9 Whitehurst Trailer Park Garden City
503 #10 Argonia, City Of Argonia
499 #11 Madison, City Of Madison
483 #12 Richmond, City Of Richmond
459 #13 Almena, City Of Almena
454 #14 Rush Co RWD 1 McCracken
444 #15 Reno Co RWD 1 Hutchinson
441 Counties in Kansas
Johnson
9 systems · 668,443 served
· 321 violations
Sedgwick
29 systems · 498,426 served
· 1,514 violations
Wyandotte
2 systems · 160,765 served
· 103 violations
Douglas
14 systems · 155,316 served
· 244 violations
Shawnee
9 systems · 154,507 served
· 551 violations
Leavenworth
16 systems · 82,837 served
· 1,071 violations
Riley
13 systems · 62,651 served
· 542 violations
Geary
16 systems · 59,609 served
· 997 violations
Saline
13 systems · 51,554 served
· 833 violations
Reno
25 systems · 50,620 served
· 2,663 violations
Butler
21 systems · 48,500 served
· 1,552 violations
Finney
18 systems · 47,281 served
· 1,522 violations
Crawford
18 systems · 38,940 served
· 1,282 violations
Cowley
16 systems · 35,090 served
· 851 violations
Ford
9 systems · 34,610 served
· 723 violations
Harvey
14 systems · 32,039 served
· 489 violations
Lyon
12 systems · 30,663 served
· 467 violations
Montgomery
17 systems · 30,553 served
· 2,176 violations
Miami
8 systems · 29,041 served
· 1,084 violations
Ellis
14 systems · 26,113 served
· 2,063 violations
McPherson
15 systems · 24,773 served
· 625 violations
Franklin
14 systems · 24,169 served
· 1,252 violations
Sumner
19 systems · 23,906 served
· 2,443 violations
Seward
9 systems · 23,643 served
· 325 violations
Pottawatomie
19 systems · 23,206 served
· 1,299 violations
Barton
16 systems · 22,818 served
· 1,473 violations
Jefferson
18 systems · 19,964 served
· 1,089 violations
Labette
15 systems · 19,599 served
· 1,630 violations
Cherokee
18 systems · 19,138 served
· 1,175 violations
Osage
17 systems · 17,894 served
· 1,472 violations
Showing top 30 of 105 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in Kansas? ▼
Kansas has 957 public water systems serving approximately 2,894,673 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 Kansas? ▼
Kansas has 84,344 total drinking water violations on record, with 33,424 classified as health-based violations. 99.1% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Kansas drinking water? ▼
Of 103 water systems tested for PFAS in Kansas, 89 had PFAS detected, a 86.4% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Kansas water systems? ▼
Kansas's violation rate is 99.1%. 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 Kansas 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.