Cities with the Most Drinking Water Violations

These cities have the highest number of EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violations on record. Cities with more water systems or larger populations often appear higher, but some smaller cities also rank due to persistent compliance challenges.

# ▴▾ City ▴▾ State ▴▾ Violations ▴▾ Health Viol. ▴▾ Population ▴▾
1 Houston TX 13,053 745 5,913,001
2 Austin TX 12,912 1,147 1,788,805
3 Des Peres TX 12,153 1,817 30,946
4 Moscow PA 10,318 54 2,311
5 Collinsville TX 10,266 22 4,824
6 Anchorage AK 6,388 382 249,201
7 Cypress TX 5,741 873 75,711
8 Tuttle OK 5,700 40 4,732
9 Norristown PA 5,674 3 99,147
10 Northport WA 5,604 3 384
11 Tucson AZ 5,285 195 899,456
12 Edmond OK 4,849 64 90,064
13 Wolfforth TX 4,690 477 9,789
14 Shallowater TX 4,335 512 3,241
15 Mcloud OK 4,285 13 3,079
16 Lubbock TX 3,957 1,353 276,842
17 Cary NC 3,297 173 439,492
18 Port Orchard WA 3,175 180 94,050
19 Des Peres AZ 3,091 508 14,744
20 Lake Ariel PA 3,048 61 6,852
21 Huntington TX 3,010 710 9,721
22 Bullhead City AZ 2,972 52 47,183
23 Phoenix AZ 2,811 167 2,288,453
24 Weatherford TX 2,778 137 35,629
25 El Mirage AZ 2,702 215 335,830
26 Texarkana TX 2,527 9 49,773
27 Monroe NY 2,436 92 62,333
28 Hunt TX 2,402 146 1,823
29 Fort Ashby WV 2,360 10 7,809
30 Albuquerque NM 2,293 334 630,436
31 Morgantown PA 2,264 121 14,065
32 Tunkhannock PA 2,255 29 6,458
33 Durham PA 2,251 31 1,730
34 Grayling AK 2,197 113 207
35 Pearland TX 2,185 6 132,991
36 Coupeville WA 2,170 224 25,056
37 Yuma AZ 2,135 246 160,263
38 Joliet IL 2,132 11 166,002
39 Barker TX 2,080 85 347
40 Maricopa AZ 2,061 498 117,033
41 Yakima WA 2,052 12 173,902
42 Colorado Springs CO 2,017 110 567,087
43 Effort PA 2,004 9 279
44 Prue OK 1,967 10 429
45 Savannah GA 1,946 79 141,370
46 Rexburg ID 1,890 85 41,645
47 Welch WV 1,869 98 11,446
48 Sedona AZ 1,831 131 10,728
49 Las Vegas NV 1,821 219 1,573,138
50 Spring Mills PA 1,820 16 834

Key Takeaways

  • Larger cities serving more people through multiple water systems tend to accumulate more violations over time.
  • Some cities appear due to specific water systems with long histories of non-compliance.
  • Violation counts reflect historical records and may include resolved issues.

Methodology

Data is sourced from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) via the Envirofacts API. Rankings include community water systems serving 100 or more people. Violation counts reflect historical records in the SDWIS database and include both resolved and unresolved violations. Health-based violations include Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) violations and Treatment Technique violations. Per-capita calculations use the total population served by tracked water systems in each state.

Verify data at epa.gov