Arkansas Water Quality Rankings 2026: Best & Worst Cities

This page ranks the 18 Arkansas cities whose water systems we have matched to EPA records. Every city starts at 100 points and loses points for health-based EPA violations in the last five years (SDWIS 2026Q2), its most recent Lead and Copper Rule 90th-percentile result, PFAS detected in EPA's 2023–2026 UCMR5 monitoring, and 2012–2019 compliance samples that averaged near or above a limit. Letters follow fixed bands (A ≥90, B ≥80, C ≥70, D ≥60, F below 60). Cities run from the highest score (Little Rock) down to the lowest (Russellville); ties are ordered by population served. See the full scoring methodology for every deduction and the data vintages. 2 further Arkansas cities are listed at the bottom without a grade because we have not yet matched them to an EPA water system.

What your city's grade means

An A or B grade points to water that consistently tests within federal safety limits, while a C suggests moderate issues worth watching and a D or F flags contaminants or compliance problems serious enough to act on. These grades describe system-level water leaving the treatment plant — they can't account for your home's own plumbing, so older houses with lead service lines or fixtures can add contaminants after the water arrives. For a contaminant-by-contaminant view, see the Arkansas contaminant breakdown or drill into the county-level rankings.

What Arkansas residents should do

• Find your city in the ranking below and open its full report for its violation history, lead results and PFAS table.
• See how Arkansas compares against the best-rated and worst-rated cities nationwide.
• Test your home's water if you have concerns — the most common issues involve lead, PFAS, and arsenic.
• Check whether your utility still has lead service lines in Arkansas — EPA's inventory counts lead pipes by water system, a risk that plant-level grades cannot capture. Read the lead guide for testing and filter options.
• If treatment makes sense for your situation, compare certified water filters matched to the contaminants found in your area.

20 Arkansas cities have a report on this site. 18 of them are matched to an active EPA-registered community water system (PWSID). Those 18 systems report serving 1,336,100 people in EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS).

Of 18 cities of the 20 Arkansas cities we can grade from EPA records, 18 cities (100%) grade B or better, 0 sit in the C range and 0 grade D or F. The average score is 99/100. 2 cities are not graded because they have not been matched to an EPA system yet.

EPA records 1 health-based violation in the last five years across 1 city. Monitoring and reporting violations (1 in the same window) are paperwork lapses and cost far fewer points.

18 cities have a Lead and Copper Rule 90th-percentile result from 2020 or later: none at 5 ppb or more — every reported result is well below the action level.

EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring (2023–2026) covers 18 cities: PFAS were detected in 1 city, all below the 4 ppt PFOA/PFOS limit.

Bella Vista scores highest (100) and Russellville lowest (90), a 10-point spread.

Because lead enters water after treatment, the most useful statewide number is the service line inventory Arkansas utilities filed with EPA (Q2 2026). 684 Arkansas systems inventoried 1,347,811 service lines: 260 confirmed lead plus 11,309 galvanized lines requiring replacement, spread across 7 systems. The bigger number is 477,926 lines (36%) whose material is still unknown — more than one line in four — and EPA treats unknown lines as possible lead until a utility verifies them.

Of the 18 city-linked Arkansas utilities with an inventory on file, 5 report at least one lead or galvanized-requiring-replacement line, 7 report none but still have a quarter or more of their lines unverified, and 6 report no lead with most lines verified. The largest, CENTRAL ARKANSAS WATER (Little Rock, 368,455 served), reports 0 lead lines and 9,804 galvanized requiring replacement. The most lead lines among city-linked systems belong to PARAGOULD MUNICIPAL UTILITIES (Paragould): 2.

Regionally, the contaminants worth knowing in Arkansas are nitrates, disinfection byproducts, lead, and bacteria. Nitrate (EPA MCL 10 mg/L (as nitrogen)) can cause methemoglobinemia ("blue baby syndrome") in infants under six months; Disinfection byproducts (regulated as TTHM (80 ppb) and HAA5 (60 ppb)) are associated with increased cancer risk over long exposure; Lead (EPA action level 0.015 mg/L (15 ppb); health goal 0) harms brain development in children and raises blood pressure and kidney risk in adults; Coliform bacteria (any E. coli-positive sample violates the Revised Total Coliform Rule) signal that disease-causing organisms may be present.

Each of these tracks a different pathway into the tap. Disinfection byproducts are a surface-water signature: chlorine reacts with organic matter in rivers and reservoirs, so byproducts tend to run higher where systems chlorinate surface water. Arsenic is naturally occurring and tends to show up in groundwater, leaching from bedrock into aquifers rather than arriving from pollution. Nitrate follows fertilizer, manure and septic loading, so it is most often a concern for systems drawing shallow groundwater in farm regions. Lead is different again: it enters after treatment from service lines and household plumbing, which is why the inventory figures above matter more than plant-level results. The Consumer Confidence Report your Arkansas utility mails each year states whether your system draws surface water or groundwater.

The best water quality in Arkansas is found in Little Rock with a score of 100/100 and a grade of A. This puts Little Rock among the top-performing cities in the country for drinking water safety.

The most concerning water quality is in Russellville scoring 90/100 with a grade of A. Residents may want to consider home water testing and filtration options.

The statewide average score is 99/100, which is 11 points above the national average of 88/100. A strong majority (100%) of Arkansas cities exceed the national average, indicating generally good water infrastructure across the state.