Minnesota Water Systems
993 community water systems in Minnesota, ranked by violation count. Data from EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS).
Minnesota operates 993 community water systems regulated by the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Together these utilities serve an estimated 4,720,882 residents, each filing compliance results with the state's primacy agency and, for federally listed contaminants, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Across the state, SDWIS records contain 845 total violations, of which 115 systems carry at least one active health-based violation, a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) exceedance or treatment-technique failure. That represents roughly 12% of Minnesota systems.
Violation counts reflect both infrastructure realities and reporting diligence, a state with more small rural systems will accumulate more monitoring-type violations without necessarily delivering worse water. Health-based violations are the stronger safety signal. A past violation does not itself indicate current unsafe water; utilities must notify customers, remediate, and publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report. All numbers below draw directly from the federal SDWIS record.
Which water systems have violations? (44)
| # | System Name | Violations | Health |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRAND PORTAGE Grand Portage | 43 | Yes |
| 2 | Thief River Falls Thief River Falls | 40 | Yes |
| 3 | Hinckley Hinckley | 16 | Yes |
| 4 | South Saint Paul South St. Paul | 10 | Yes |
| 5 | Ely Ely | 10 | Yes |
| 6 | Winona Winona | 8 | Yes |
| 7 | Stacy Stacy | 8 | Yes |
| 8 | Lafayette Lafayette | 7 | Yes |
| 9 | Otsego Otsego | 6 | Yes |
| 10 | Lewiston Lewiston | 6 | Yes |
| 11 | Inver Grove Heights Inver Grove Heights | 5 | Yes |
| 12 | REDBY/RED LAKE Red Lake | 5 | Yes |
| 13 | Savage Savage | 4 | Yes |
| 14 | Spring Lake Park Spring Lake Park | 4 | Yes |
| 15 | Elko New Market Elko-new Market | 4 | Yes |
| 16 | Rush City Rush City | 4 | Yes |
| 17 | Skyline Village Mobile Home Park Inver Grove Heights | 4 | Yes |
| 18 | Biwabik Biwabik | 4 | Yes |
| 19 | Lyle Lyle | 4 | Yes |
| 20 | Cosmos Cosmos | 4 | Yes |
| 21 | Amboy Amboy | 3 | Yes |
| 22 | Verndale Verndale | 3 | Yes |
| 23 | Hastings Hastings | 2 | Yes |
| 24 | Lexington Lexington | 2 | Yes |
| 25 | VERMILION Nett Lake | 2 | Yes |
| 26 | The Meadows Monticello | 2 | Yes |
| 27 | Stockton Stockton | 2 | Yes |
| 28 | Alden Alden | 2 | Yes |
| 29 | Taconite Taconite | 2 | Yes |
| 30 | Sabin Sabin | 2 | Yes |
| 31 | Ironton Ironton | 2 | Yes |
| 32 | Glenville Glenville | 2 | Yes |
| 33 | Duluth Duluth | 1 | Yes |
| 34 | Fairmont Fairmont | 1 | Yes |
| 35 | Pipestone Pipestone | 1 | Yes |
| 36 | Eveleth Eveleth | 1 | Yes |
| 37 | Saint John's University Collegeville | 1 | Yes |
| 38 | Winthrop Winthrop | 1 | Yes |
| 39 | Spicer Spicer | 1 | Yes |
| 40 | Houston Houston | 1 | Yes |
| 41 | MN Correctional Facility - Moose Lake Moose Lake | 1 | Yes |
| 42 | Hampton Hampton | 1 | Yes |
| 43 | Rollingstone Rollingstone | 1 | Yes |
| 44 | Elysian Elysian | 1 | Yes |
Systems with No Violations (456)
456 water systems in Minnesota have zero recorded violations. Showing the 50 largest by population served.
All Water Systems in Minnesota (993)
Page 2 of 20, ordered by population served.
| System | Population Served | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Andover | 21,455 | 0 |
| Willmar | 21,045 | 0 |
| New Hope | 20,963 | 0 |
| Northfield | 20,790 | 0 |
| South Saint Paul | 20,664 | 10 |
| Sartell | 20,300 | 0 |
| Elk River | 19,532 | 0 |
| Hopkins | 19,462 | 0 |
| Stillwater | 19,462 | 0 |
| Otsego | 19,000 | 6 |
| Albert Lea | 18,492 | 0 |
| Anoka | 18,000 | 0 |
| Lino Lakes | 17,859 | 0 |
| Ramsey | 17,705 | 0 |
| Buffalo | 16,711 | 0 |
| Red Wing | 16,459 | 0 |
| Hibbing | 16,028 | 0 |
| Bemidji | 15,147 | 0 |
| Monticello | 15,087 | 0 |
| Alexandria | 15,000 | 0 |
| Brainerd | 14,670 | 0 |
| Robbinsdale | 14,646 | 0 |
| Hutchinson | 14,590 | 0 |
| North Mankato | 14,448 | 0 |
| Rogers | 14,430 | 0 |
| Fergus Falls | 14,194 | 0 |
| New Ulm | 14,052 | 0 |
| Worthington | 14,052 | 0 |
| Marshall | 13,890 | 0 |
| Sauk Rapids | 13,835 | 0 |
| Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System | 13,644 | 0 |
| Waconia | 13,277 | 0 |
| Mounds View | 13,250 | 0 |
| North Saint Paul | 13,134 | 0 |
| Vadnais Heights | 13,025 | 0 |
| Cloquet | 12,864 | 0 |
| Big Lake | 12,413 | 0 |
| Hugo | 12,047 | 0 |
| Forest Lake | 11,800 | 0 |
| Saint Peter | 11,784 | 0 |
| White Bear Township | 11,699 | 0 |
| Grand Rapids | 11,346 | 0 |
| Lake Elmo | 10,978 | 0 |
| Victoria | 10,546 | 0 |
| Fairmont | 10,328 | 1 |
| Little Canada | 10,200 | 0 |
| Detroit Lakes | 10,038 | 0 |
| Arden Hills | 10,000 | 0 |
| Cambridge | 9,862 | 0 |
| Saint Anthony Village | 9,500 | 0 |
Frequently Asked Questions
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How many water systems in Minnesota have health violations?
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About This Data
Water system data is from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). Health-based violations include Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and Treatment Technique (TT) violations that may pose a direct risk to public health. Only community water systems (CWS) are included.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, SDWIS Federal Reporting Services U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, SDWIS Federal Reporting Services
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.