States → Michigan
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
Michigan Drinking Water Quality
10,959 public water systems serve 9,098,093 people across Michigan, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 10,959
- Water systems
- 255,201
- Total violations
- 86.1%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 27.4%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across Michigan, 9,440 of 10,959 water systems (86.1%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 87 of 318 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 255,201
- Total EPA violations on record
- 12%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 86.1%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 27.4%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
10,959
Total Violations
255,201
Violation Rate
86.1%
PFAS Detection
27.4%
87 of 318 tested
Violation Composition
How Michigan's 255,201 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (31,467) Monitoring/Reporting (223,734)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 10,959 | - |
| Population served | 9,098,093 | - |
| Total violations | 255,201 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 31,467 | 12.3% |
| Systems with violations | 9,440 | 86.1% |
| PFAS detection rate | 87 of 318 | 27.4% |
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
Detroit City Of
Detroit, MI · 633,218 served
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, MI · 273,005 served
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · 241,868 served
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, MI · 192,992 served
Lansing Board of Water & Light
Lansing, MI · 166,000 served
Warren, City Of
Warren, MI · 134,056 served
Sterling Heights, City Of
Sterling Heights, MI · 127,000 served
Dearborn
Dearborn, MI · 109,976 served
Clinton Township
Clinton Township, MI · 100,513 served
Canton Township
Canton, MI · 99,627 served
Livonia
Livonia, MI · 96,942 served
Macomb Township
Macomb, MI · 90,000 served
Troy
Troy, MI · 85,854 served
Westland
Westland, MI · 84,094 served
Flint, City Of
Flint, MI · 81,252 served
Rochester Hills
Rochester Hills, MI · 74,000 served
Genesee County Water System
Flint, MI · 73,726 served
Waterford Township
Waterford, MI · 73,441 served
Wyoming
Holland, MI · 72,125 served
Shelby Township
Shelby Township, MI · 72,000 served
Most Violations
#1 Country Schoolhouse Day Care (Danforth) Escanaba
1,313 #2 Benton Harbor Benton Harbor
843 #3 Green Brook Estates Fowlerville
768 #4 Beck Village Plaza LLC White Lake
620 #5 Deerfield Deerfield
600 #6 Freeport Freeport
566 #7 North Dickinson School Felch
482 #8 Oak Shore Commons (K-Mart Building) East Lansing
473 #9 Bark River-Harris Schools Harris
444 #10 Hartman Hills Marketplace Traverse City
440 #11 Learning Rainbow Preschool Commerce Twp
427 #12 Honee Bear Canning Lawton
421 #13 42nd Street Plaza Traverse City
397 #14 Lyon Gear & Machine - Plant 2 Rochester
386 #15 White Pines Mobile Home Park Dowagiac
370 Counties in Michigan
Wayne
55 systems · 1,774,820 served
· 1,141 violations
Oakland
742 systems · 1,147,613 served
· 21,952 violations
Macomb
93 systems · 830,956 served
· 2,728 violations
Kent
407 systems · 616,574 served
· 4,140 violations
Washtenaw
264 systems · 420,450 served
· 6,092 violations
Genesee
397 systems · 335,433 served
· 13,553 violations
Kalamazoo
195 systems · 286,536 served
· 2,453 violations
Ingham
109 systems · 279,137 served
· 3,710 violations
Ottawa
233 systems · 246,531 served
· 3,476 violations
Saginaw
61 systems · 170,110 served
· 1,094 violations
Muskegon
217 systems · 151,467 served
· 2,897 violations
Jackson
230 systems · 137,611 served
· 3,320 violations
Monroe
82 systems · 136,030 served
· 1,845 violations
Livingston
431 systems · 135,167 served
· 6,236 violations
Berrien
210 systems · 133,064 served
· 4,797 violations
St. Clair
104 systems · 131,964 served
· 2,483 violations
Allegan
318 systems · 110,806 served
· 5,441 violations
Bay
29 systems · 99,076 served
· 248 violations
Calhoun
148 systems · 94,845 served
· 3,433 violations
Lenawee
193 systems · 81,303 served
· 4,463 violations
Eaton
105 systems · 68,299 served
· 3,144 violations
Midland
34 systems · 67,083 served
· 402 violations
Grand Traverse
180 systems · 57,994 served
· 8,262 violations
Van Buren
185 systems · 57,921 served
· 4,250 violations
Roscommon
231 systems · 57,124 served
· 6,018 violations
Marquette
95 systems · 57,092 served
· 2,172 violations
St. Joseph
135 systems · 49,903 served
· 3,930 violations
Lapeer
244 systems · 49,673 served
· 6,205 violations
Montcalm
162 systems · 49,446 served
· 6,429 violations
Isabella
90 systems · 49,206 served
· 2,991 violations
Showing top 30 of 83 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in Michigan? ▼
Michigan has 10,959 public water systems serving approximately 9,098,093 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 Michigan? ▼
Michigan has 255,201 total drinking water violations on record, with 31,467 classified as health-based violations. 86.1% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Michigan drinking water? ▼
Of 318 water systems tested for PFAS in Michigan, 87 had PFAS detected, a 27.4% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Michigan water systems? ▼
Michigan's violation rate is 86.1%. 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 Michigan 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.