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State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5

Navajo Nation Drinking Water Quality

170 public water systems serve 167,275 people across Navajo Nation, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.

170
Water systems
29,535
Total violations
100%
Systems w/ a violation
100%
PFAS detection rate

The verdict

Across Navajo Nation, 170 of 170 water systems (100.0%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 13 of 13 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.

29,535
Total EPA violations on record
5%
Health-based (MCL / treatment)
100.0%
Systems with ≥1 violation
100%
UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
170
Total Violations
29,535
Violation Rate
100%
PFAS Detection
100%
13 of 13 tested

Violation Composition

How Navajo Nation's 29,535 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.

Health-based (1,366) Monitoring/Reporting (28,169)
Metric Value Share
Public water systems170-
Population served167,275-
Total violations29,535100%
Health-based violations1,3664.6%
Systems with violations170100.0%
PFAS detection rate13 of 13100%

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

Farmington Rural-Shiprock-Beclabito NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 15,233 served
154 violations
Fort Defiance-Window Rock-St Michaels NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 12,869 served
248 violations
Chinle-Many Farms-Del Muerto NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 8,458 served
302 violations
Tuba City NTUA
Fort Defiance, NN · 6,276 served
66 violations
Pinon-District 4 NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 5,195 served
59 violations
Dilkon-Indian Wells-Greasewood-White Cone NTUA
Fort Defiance, NN · 4,986 served
223 violations
Mariano Lake-Pinedale-Church Rock NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 4,562 served
108 violations
Crownpoint-Littlewater-Three Mile Point NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 3,950 served
84 violations
Ganado-Burnside-Cornfield-Steamboat NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 3,947 served
183 violations
Kayenta NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 3,844 served
258 violations
Leupp-Birdsprings-Tolani Lake NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 2,100 served
57 violations
Bread Springs-Chichiltah NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 2,066 served
324 violations
Tuba City Boarding School BIA
Tuba City, NN · 2,040 served
35 violations
Sweetwater NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 2,014 served
156 violations
Sanostee-Tocito NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 1,953 served
99 violations
New Lands NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 1,905 served
108 violations
Twin Lakes NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 1,833 served
93 violations
Tohatchi-Mexican Springs-Twin Lakes NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 1,669 served
76 violations
Lukachukai NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 1,659 served
80 violations
Defiance NTUA
Ft Defiance, NN · 1,659 served
158 violations

Most Violations

#1 St Michael Indian School St Michaels
1,202
#2 White Post Mission NTUA Ft Defiance
1,145
#3 Alamo-Alamo Community Alamo
899
#4 Canoncito Canoncito
898
#5 Red Mesa Public Schools Teec Nos Pos
857
#6 Alamo-Alamo Springs Alamo
820
#7 Round Rock Elementary School Teec Nos Pos
801
#8 Pinehill Community and School Tonalea
726
#9 Ramah-Mountain View RNUA Pinehill
666
#10 Tohatchi Public School Tohatchi
663
#11 Alamo-Chavez Springs Alamo
599
#12 Monument Valley Mission - Hospital Monument Valley
578
#13 Ramah-Sunset Valley RNUA Pinehill
553
#14 Ramah-Ramah Rural RNUA Pinehill
538
#15 Gouldings Trading Post and Lodge Monument Valley
432

Counties in Navajo Nation

County NN001
51 systems · 55,505 served · 9,921 violations
County NN031
29 systems · 27,501 served · 3,615 violations
County NN017
27 systems · 26,234 served · 4,391 violations
County NN045
19 systems · 25,958 served · 2,250 violations
County NN005
22 systems · 20,758 served · 1,970 violations
County NN037
13 systems · 6,907 served · 2,385 violations
County NN006
4 systems · 1,681 served · 2,483 violations
County NN053
4 systems · 1,623 served · 2,428 violations
County NN043
1 systems · 1,108 served · 92 violations
View all 170 systems in Navajo Nation →

Drinking Water Guides

Is Your Tap Water Safe?

How to interpret water quality reports and know when to take action.
PFAS in Drinking Water

What forever chemicals are, EPA testing results, and 2024 standards.
Check Your Water System

Step-by-step guide to finding and understanding your local water data.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water systems are in Navajo Nation? ▼
Navajo Nation has 170 public water systems serving approximately 167,275 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 Navajo Nation? ▼
Navajo Nation has 29,535 total drinking water violations on record, with 1,366 classified as health-based violations. 100.0% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Navajo Nation drinking water? ▼
Of 13 water systems tested for PFAS in Navajo Nation, 13 had PFAS detected, a 100% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Navajo Nation water systems? ▼
Navajo Nation's violation rate is 100%. 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 Navajo Nation 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

All states → | Most violations → | Compare counties →
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.