Water Service Outages in Nebraska by City
93% of Nebraska's 583 community water systems serve 3,300 people or fewer, so many outages and boil water notices affect a single small town or subdivision.
Nebraska drinking water record
Busiest year: 2015 (227 violations). Counted by the year the violation period began. Source: EPA SDWIS.
- Community water systems: 583 active systems serve about 1,707,669 people. 540 of them (93%) serve 3,300 people or fewer; 549 draw mainly on groundwater and 23 on surface water.
- Health-based violations since 2015: 865, at 228 systems (39% of all systems). That share is 38th of 50 states (1 = lowest).
- Most common problems: contaminant averages over the limit (283); contaminant readings over the limit (230); E. coli (74). Source: EPA SDWIS
- Largest system: Metropolitan Utilities District, about 660,000 people, with 0 health-based violations since 2015. Source: EPA SDWIS
- Housing age: the median Nebraska home was built in 1975 (US 1980). Older housing stock means more lead service lines left to replace. Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 (table B25035)
- Storm damage to water service: NOAA storm narratives mention water mains, boil water notices or lost water service in 1 episodes in Nebraska since 2015. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
- March 15, 2019, Sarpy (flood): “Levee R-613 failed causing major flooding at Offutt Air Force Base and the Papillion Creek Wastewater Plant.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
| System | People served | Main source | Health violations since 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Utilities District | 660,000 | Surface water | 0 |
| Lincoln, City Of | 296,000 | Mixed | 0 |
| Grand Island, City Of | 51,478 | Groundwater | 2 |
| Papillion, City Of | 35,000 | Groundwater | 3 |
| Kearney, City Of | 34,000 | Mixed | 1 |
| Fremont, City Of | 27,230 | Groundwater | 0 |
Source: EPA SDWIS.
Nebraska is 6th of 7 (1 = lowest share). Source: EPA SDWIS.
Checked September 2026.
Who to call in Nebraska, city by city
4 Nebraska cities on this site and the water utility for each. What to do while you wait is in our water service outage guide.
- Omaha Metropolitan Utilities District (M.U.D.)
- Lincoln Lincoln Water System
- Bellevue Metropolitan Utilities District (M.U.D.)
- Grand Island Grand Island Utilities
Frequently asked questions
Is there a water service outage in Nebraska right now?
Not on this site: no reports from Nebraska in the last 24 hours.
How many public water systems are in Nebraska?
EPA records list 583 active community water systems in Nebraska, serving about 1,707,669 people. 93% serve 3,300 people or fewer.
How common are drinking water violations in Nebraska?
Since 2015, 228 of 583 community water systems in Nebraska (39%) have had at least one health-based violation, 865 in total.
What is the largest water system in Nebraska?
Metropolitan Utilities District, which EPA records list as serving about 660,000 people.
Report counts are user-submitted; other figures name their official source. How our data works
Cities in Nebraska with Water Service Outages Information
Bellevue
no reports in the last 24 hours · pop. 64,376
Metropolitan Utilities District (M.U.D.)
Grand Island
no reports in the last 24 hours · pop. 53,013
Grand Island Utilities
Lincoln
no reports in the last 24 hours · pop. 291,082
Lincoln Water System
Omaha
no reports in the last 24 hours · pop. 486,051
Metropolitan Utilities District (M.U.D.)