Little Rock, Arkansas Water Outage Today

Little Rock tap water system, by the numbers

Federal records name Central Arkansas Water as the public water system for Little Rock, with about 368,455 people on its mains.

Where Little Rock's tap water comes from

Little Rock drinks surface water. Central Arkansas Water draws it from Lake Winona, Jackson Reservior, and Lake Maumelle and treats it before it goes into the distribution system. Treatment points named in EPA's facility list include Wilson Plant.

Why this matters when the water stops. Surface water needs a treatment plant running around the clock, so a plant shutdown, a raw-water pump failure or a long power cut at the plant can lower pressure across the whole service area, not just on one street. Boil water notices are more likely to be citywide after that kind of failure than after a single main break.

Main breaks and shutoffs in Little Rock: the usual causes

Water outages are local, so the likely cause depends on weather, pipe age and the grid. For Little Rock, these stand out.

• Freezing weather. Little Rock sees about 50 days a year with a low at or below 32°F, and 5 days at or below 20°F. The coldest morning in the 2015 through 2025 record came on February 16, 2021. The longest stretch with highs that never rose above freezing ran 5 days, ending February 18, 2021. Frost pushes into shallow service lines first. Mains follow when the ground heaves and thaws, which is why break counts climb a day or two after the temperature swings.
• Flooding and heavy rain. NOAA logged 178 flood, flash flood and heavy rain reports in Pulaski County from 2015 through 2026, and 16 days a year bring an inch of rain or more. Flooding is hard on water systems in three ways: it erodes soil around pipe crossings, drowns pumps and electrical equipment, and can let contaminated runoff into the mains, which triggers precautionary boil notices.
• Summer demand. Little Rock has about 45 days a year at or above 95°F and 17 at or above 100°F, and the hottest day in the record came on August 26, 2023. Lawn irrigation and cooling push demand to its yearly high, so pumps run hard, tanks drain faster than they refill and pressure sags on high ground in the evening.
• Storm-driven power loss. Thunderstorm wind, hail and tornado reports in Pulaski County number 317 since 2015. Pump stations and treatment plants that depend on Entergy Arkansas run on the electric grid, so a storm that downs power lines can lower water pressure even when no pipe is damaged.
• Construction and third-party damage. A backhoe or boring crew that hits a main is among the most common reasons a single block goes dry without warning. Utilities handle those the same way as any break: isolate, repair, flush.
• One-address problems. A closed valve, a meter swap or a failed regulator can leave a single house dry. Compare notes with a neighbor first; if they have water too, start with your own plumbing.

Freeze, heat and rain: the Little Rock weather record

Main break season in Little Rock runs from late fall into early spring, with the coldest stretch around December through February.

A note on the numbers: they are modeled for the city center and averaged over eleven years, so they show how often Little Rock sees each kind of weather, not what any one thermometer read on a given day.

Little Rock boil water notices and EPA compliance record

Since 2015, EPA's record for Central Arkansas Water shows no health-based violations.

A boil water notice in Little Rock is a separate thing from a violation. Central Arkansas Water issues one when pressure falls low enough for contamination to enter the pipes, after a main break is repaired, or when a routine test comes back positive. The Arkansas Department of Health Engineering Section oversees the process, and the notice stays until clean samples come back, usually a day or two after pressure returns.

What the lead tests and housing age say about Little Rock

The most recent 90th-percentile lead result filed for Central Arkansas Water is 1 ppb (2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb, so that result is comfortably below it.

35.7% of occupied homes in Little Rock were built before 1970, and lead service lines and solder stayed legal until the federal ban in 1986. After any outage that disturbs the pipes, run the cold tap 30 seconds to 2 minutes before drinking, and ask Central Arkansas Water about its lead service line inventory.

How long a water outage lasts in Little Rock

A crew that arrives at an ordinary main break in Little Rock usually needs 4 to 8 hours to isolate the pipe, dig, repair, flush and restore pressure. Large transmission mains, deep pipes and breaks under busy streets can take a day or more. With 368,455 people on the system, a break on a main that feeds a whole district can leave thousands of homes dry at once, and crews may close valves several blocks away to isolate it.

Central Arkansas Water will post an estimated restoration time for a break that affects many customers; ask for the repair crew's estimate when you call.

Preparing for a long water outage in Little Rock

The average household in Little Rock has about 2.3 people, so FEMA's minimum of one gallon per person per day comes to roughly 7 gallons for three days and 32 gallons for two weeks.

• Heat: 45 days a year top 95°F here, so plan for more than the one-gallon minimum, and keep extra for pets.
• Do not forget the water heater: the tank holds roughly 30 to 50 gallons you can drink after it is switched off and allowed to cool.
• Fill a tub or large containers early for toilets, cleaning and handwashing, and store drinking water separately in clean bottles.

How Little Rock compares with nearby water systems

Water outage pages for nearby cities

Fort Smith, AR · Memphis, TN · Fayetteville, AR · Bartlett, TN