States → Mississippi
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
Mississippi Drinking Water Quality
1,185 public water systems serve 3,286,781 people across Mississippi, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 1,185
- Water systems
- 499,292
- Total violations
- 96.1%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 67.2%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across Mississippi, 1,139 of 1,185 water systems (96.1%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 160 of 238 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 499,292
- Total EPA violations on record
- 2%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 96.1%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 67.2%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
1,185
Total Violations
499,292
Violation Rate
96.1%
PFAS Detection
67.2%
160 of 238 tested
Violation Composition
How Mississippi's 499,292 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (10,292) Monitoring/Reporting (489,000)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 1,185 | - |
| Population served | 3,286,781 | - |
| Total violations | 499,292 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 10,292 | 2.1% |
| Systems with violations | 1,139 | 96.1% |
| PFAS detection rate | 160 of 238 | 67.2% |
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
City of Jackson
Jackson, MS · 189,673 served
City of Gulfport
Gulfport, MS · 75,056 served
City of Southaven
Southaven, MS · 56,000 served
City of Olive Branch
Olive Branch, MS · 54,025 served
City of Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg, MS · 43,449 served
City of Tupelo
Tupelo, MS · 37,000 served
City of Meridian
Meridian, MS · 34,466 served
City of Starkville
Starkville, MS · 32,027 served
City of Brandon
Brandon, MS · 31,852 served
City of Greenville
Greenville, MS · 29,602 served
City of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, MS · 29,238 served
West Jackson Co Utility Dist
Ocean Springs, MS · 28,544 served
City of Oxford
Oxford, MS · 28,500 served
City of Jackson-Maddox RD.
Jackson, MS · 28,098 served
City of Flowood
Flowood, MS · 27,997 served
City of Pearl
Pearl, MS · 27,115 served
University of Mississippi
Oxford, MS · 26,874 served
Bear Creek W/A-West
Canton, MS · 26,677 served
City of Ocean Springs
Ocean Springs, MS · 26,168 served
City of Clinton
Clinton, MS · 25,000 served
Most Violations
#1 West Jackson Co Utility Dist Ocean Springs
3,503 #2 Town of Aberdeen Aberdeen
2,703 #3 Keesler Air Force Base Biloxi
2,534 #4 Fannin Water Assn-North Brandon
1,741 #5 Lafayette Springs Water Assn Oxford
1,664 #6 City of Ripley Ripley
1,655 #7 City of New Albany New Albany
1,650 #8 Buckatunna Water Association Buckatunna
1,603 #9 City of Gulfport Gulfport
1,598 #10 City of Pontotoc Pontotoc
1,579 #11 Sebastopol Water Association Sebastopol
1,553 #12 Town of Bolton Bolton
1,539 #13 North Lee W/a #1-Barnes Crosng Saltillo
1,450 #14 City of Corinth Glen
1,427 #15 Barrontown W/A Petal
1,414 Counties in Mississippi
Hinds
29 systems · 297,741 served
· 13,146 violations
DeSoto
23 systems · 202,603 served
· 5,185 violations
Harrison
52 systems · 193,791 served
· 15,513 violations
Rankin
36 systems · 185,902 served
· 24,667 violations
Jackson
36 systems · 149,196 served
· 11,232 violations
Madison
17 systems · 129,931 served
· 7,946 violations
Forrest
16 systems · 89,526 served
· 9,982 violations
Lee
25 systems · 86,838 served
· 14,984 violations
Lauderdale
14 systems · 79,977 served
· 6,664 violations
Lafayette
24 systems · 74,518 served
· 9,184 violations
Jones
23 systems · 70,823 served
· 13,339 violations
Oktibbeha
24 systems · 69,436 served
· 10,067 violations
Lowndes
14 systems · 67,039 served
· 4,212 violations
Lamar
11 systems · 65,838 served
· 6,121 violations
Hancock
21 systems · 56,912 served
· 5,538 violations
Warren
7 systems · 56,140 served
· 1,489 violations
Pearl River
19 systems · 54,819 served
· 6,507 violations
Washington
14 systems · 47,415 served
· 6,121 violations
Monroe
13 systems · 41,263 served
· 7,738 violations
Alcorn
8 systems · 38,985 served
· 4,326 violations
Bolivar
29 systems · 37,727 served
· 11,980 violations
Pike
17 systems · 37,313 served
· 5,877 violations
Pontotoc
12 systems · 36,687 served
· 8,037 violations
Simpson
16 systems · 35,130 served
· 8,704 violations
Lincoln
10 systems · 34,845 served
· 3,387 violations
Scott
14 systems · 33,695 served
· 10,379 violations
Panola
31 systems · 33,531 served
· 10,060 violations
Grenada
17 systems · 33,387 served
· 6,872 violations
Adams
8 systems · 32,826 served
· 2,696 violations
Leflore
17 systems · 32,564 served
· 5,439 violations
Showing top 30 of 82 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in Mississippi? ▼
Mississippi has 1,185 public water systems serving approximately 3,286,781 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 Mississippi? ▼
Mississippi has 499,292 total drinking water violations on record, with 10,292 classified as health-based violations. 96.1% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Mississippi drinking water? ▼
Of 238 water systems tested for PFAS in Mississippi, 160 had PFAS detected, a 67.2% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Mississippi water systems? ▼
Mississippi's violation rate is 96.1%. 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 Mississippi 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.