States → North Dakota
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
North Dakota Drinking Water Quality
368 public water systems serve 712,349 people across North Dakota, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 368
- Water systems
- 13,624
- Total violations
- 94%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 89.5%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across North Dakota, 346 of 368 water systems (94.0%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 34 of 38 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 13,624
- Total EPA violations on record
- 20%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 94.0%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 89.5%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
368
Total Violations
13,624
Violation Rate
94%
PFAS Detection
89.5%
34 of 38 tested
Violation Composition
How North Dakota's 13,624 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (2,673) Monitoring/Reporting (10,951)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 368 | - |
| Population served | 712,349 | - |
| Total violations | 13,624 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 2,673 | 19.6% |
| Systems with violations | 346 | 94.0% |
| PFAS detection rate | 34 of 38 | 89.5% |
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
Fargo City Of
Fargo, ND · 120,762 served
Bismarck City Of
Bismarck, ND · 72,417 served
Grand Forks Regional WTP
Grand Forks, ND · 57,339 served
Minot City Of
Minot, ND · 48,743 served
West Fargo City Of
West Fargo, ND · 34,858 served
Williston City Of
Williston, ND · 26,426 served
Dickinson City Of
Dickinson, ND · 25,679 served
Mandan City Of
Mandan, ND · 21,769 served
Jamestown City Of
Jamestown, ND · 15,427 served
South Central RWD North Burleigh
Bismarck, ND · 10,400 served
Southwest Water Authority
Dickinson, ND · 8,537 served
Wahpeton City Of
Wahpeton, ND · 7,766 served
North Prairie RWD-System 1&2
Minot, ND · 7,748 served
Devils Lake City Of
Devils Lake, ND · 7,141 served
Valley City City Of
Valley City, ND · 6,585 served
Watford City City Of
Watford City, ND · 6,390 served
East Central Regional WD-Gf
Thompson, ND · 5,995 served
Stutsman Rural Water District
Jamestown, ND · 5,550 served
Greater Ramsey Water District
Devils Lake, ND · 5,280 served
Northwest Rural Water District
Williston, ND · 5,102 served
Most Violations
#1 Willowbank Colony Edgeley
280 #2 Almont City Of Almont
253 #3 Ross City Of Ross
236 #4 Karlsruhe City Of Karlsruhe
235 #5 Forbes City Of Forbes
199 #6 Willow City City Of Willow City
185 #7 Oberon City Of Oberon
173 #8 Mercer City Of Mercer
154 #9 Cathay City Of Cathay
154 #10 Maxbass City Of Maxbass
137 #11 Bisbee City Of Bisbee
136 #12 Fradets Orchard Water System Horace
128 #13 Oakes Golf Club Oakes
125 #14 Ryder City Of Ryder
122 #15 Souris City Of Souris
119 Counties in North Dakota
Cass
27 systems · 176,764 served
· 915 violations
Burleigh
12 systems · 92,574 served
· 263 violations
Grand Forks
9 systems · 69,787 served
· 232 violations
Ward
14 systems · 65,645 served
· 589 violations
Williams
22 systems · 38,366 served
· 564 violations
Stark
8 systems · 36,506 served
· 136 violations
Morton
13 systems · 29,721 served
· 464 violations
Stutsman
9 systems · 22,008 served
· 328 violations
Richland
13 systems · 15,446 served
· 554 violations
Ramsey
3 systems · 12,603 served
· 64 violations
McKenzie
16 systems · 12,466 served
· 549 violations
Barnes
9 systems · 12,391 served
· 513 violations
Mercer
10 systems · 10,695 served
· 205 violations
McLean
13 systems · 9,697 served
· 559 violations
Walsh
5 systems · 9,366 served
· 110 violations
Pembina
8 systems · 7,930 served
· 317 violations
Traill
5 systems · 7,644 served
· 96 violations
Wells
6 systems · 6,057 served
· 378 violations
Bottineau
21 systems · 5,903 served
· 867 violations
Emmons
6 systems · 5,867 served
· 178 violations
Dickey
8 systems · 4,858 served
· 562 violations
Ransom
5 systems · 4,835 served
· 57 violations
Cavalier
5 systems · 4,570 served
· 205 violations
Nelson
6 systems · 4,204 served
· 159 violations
Pierce
3 systems · 3,994 served
· 69 violations
Rolette
8 systems · 3,753 served
· 271 violations
Griggs
5 systems · 3,503 served
· 157 violations
Foster
3 systems · 2,611 served
· 50 violations
McHenry
7 systems · 2,316 served
· 432 violations
LaMoure
10 systems · 2,292 served
· 649 violations
Showing top 30 of 52 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in North Dakota? ▼
North Dakota has 368 public water systems serving approximately 712,349 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 North Dakota? ▼
North Dakota has 13,624 total drinking water violations on record, with 2,673 classified as health-based violations. 94.0% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in North Dakota drinking water? ▼
Of 38 water systems tested for PFAS in North Dakota, 34 had PFAS detected, a 89.5% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for North Dakota water systems? ▼
North Dakota's violation rate is 94%. 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 North Dakota 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.