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State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5

Nevada Drinking Water Quality

589 public water systems serve 3,455,285 people across Nevada, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.

589
Water systems
56,333
Total violations
92.5%
Systems w/ a violation
87.7%
PFAS detection rate

The verdict

Across Nevada, 545 of 589 water systems (92.5%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 50 of 57 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.

56,333
Total EPA violations on record
12%
Health-based (MCL / treatment)
92.5%
Systems with ≥1 violation
87.7%
UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
589
Total Violations
56,333
Violation Rate
92.5%
PFAS Detection
87.7%
50 of 57 tested

Violation Composition

How Nevada's 56,333 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.

Health-based (6,657) Monitoring/Reporting (49,676)
Metric Value Share
Public water systems589-
Population served3,455,285-
Total violations56,333100%
Health-based violations6,65711.8%
Systems with violations54592.5%
PFAS detection rate50 of 5787.7%

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

Las Vegas Valley Water District
Las Vegas, NV · 1,539,277 served
193 violations
Truckee Meadows Water Authority
Reno, NV · 442,000 served
1 violations
North las Vegas Utilities
North las Vegas, NV · 376,515 served
1 violations
Henderson City Of
Henderson, NV · 336,534 served
5 violations
Carson City Public Works
Carson City, NV · 59,000 served
298 violations
Virgin Valley Water District
Mesquite, NV · 26,000 served
2,313 violations
Fernley Public Works
Fernley, NV · 23,064 served
451 violations
Elko City Of
Elko, NV · 23,000 served
95 violations
Venetian Palazzo
Las Vegas, NV · 19,387 served
30 violations
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Afb, NV · 19,081 served
42 violations
City Center Hotels
Las Vegas, NV · 17,739 served
Bellagio Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, NV · 17,171 served
6 violations
Sun Valley Gid
Sun Valley, NV · 17,000 served
7 violations
Dayton Valley Water System
Dayton, NV · 16,000 served
4 violations
Mgm Grand Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV · 15,500 served
Boulder City
Boulder City, NV · 15,000 served
7 violations
Tri General Improvement District
McCarran, NV · 13,360 served
818 violations
Fontainebleau las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV · 11,644 served
Great Basin Water Company
Pahrump, NV · 11,322 served
31 violations
Gardnerville Ranchos Gid
Gardnerville, NV · 11,300 served
209 violations

Most Violations

#1 Virgin Valley Water District Mesquite
2,313
#2 Lee Canyon Ski Area Las Vegas
1,627
#3 Elkhorn Water Association LLC Las Vegas
1,364
#4 Rosemount Water Co Reno
1,179
#5 Carson River Estates Fallon
1,089
#6 Desert Sunrise Water Users Assoc Las Vegas
1,020
#7 Whispering Vine Reno
1,002
#8 Yerington City Of Yerington
966
#9 Sierra Country Estates Minden
874
#10 Tri General Improvement District McCarran
818
#11 Foothill Water System Minden
812
#12 Lander Co Sewer and Water Dist 2 Austin Battle Mountain
760
#13 Imlay Water System Lovelock
723
#14 Silver Springs Mutual Water Company Silver Springs
695
#15 Silver Knolls Mutual Water Company Reno
671

Counties in Nevada

Clark
145 systems · 2,620,052 served · 14,829 violations
Washoe
72 systems · 494,328 served · 6,370 violations
County NV025
4 systems · 59,225 served · 719 violations
Douglas
38 systems · 54,913 served · 5,162 violations
Elko
44 systems · 51,925 served · 3,094 violations
Lyon
30 systems · 51,309 served · 4,095 violations
Nye
96 systems · 33,987 served · 5,864 violations
Storey
6 systems · 16,305 served · 1,033 violations
Churchill
31 systems · 15,799 served · 4,250 violations
Humboldt
28 systems · 15,249 served · 3,240 violations
White Pine
27 systems · 13,026 served · 2,314 violations
Pershing
15 systems · 7,816 served · 1,969 violations
Lander
9 systems · 6,034 served · 920 violations
Lincoln
17 systems · 5,474 served · 1,201 violations
Eureka
14 systems · 4,364 served · 385 violations
Mineral
7 systems · 3,971 served · 566 violations
Esmeralda
6 systems · 1,508 served · 322 violations
View all 589 systems in Nevada →

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 Nevada? ▼
Nevada has 589 public water systems serving approximately 3,455,285 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 Nevada? ▼
Nevada has 56,333 total drinking water violations on record, with 6,657 classified as health-based violations. 92.5% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Nevada drinking water? ▼
Of 57 water systems tested for PFAS in Nevada, 50 had PFAS detected, a 87.7% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Nevada water systems? ▼
Nevada's violation rate is 92.5%. 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 Nevada 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.