Pulaski County tap water: hardness, PFAS and lead

Pulaski County, Arkansas has about 401,209 residents (Census 2024 estimate) and 11 community water systems in EPA records. The largest local system is Central Arkansas Water, serving about 368,455 people from surface water.

✓ 0 of 6 largest systems with health-based violationsPFAS detected at 0 of 5 sampled systemsHardness 3.7 gpg (low confidence)

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

How hard is Pulaski County water?

Central Arkansas Water Estimate: untreated local water, not your tap · Low confidence

3.7 gpg (63 mg/L), moderately hard

Pulaski County: median of 4,940 results from 203 monitoring sites (streams and wells). Utilities may blend or treat water, so your tap can differ.

Source: Hard Water Map county data, samples through 2025

County estimates: Hard Water Map (hardwatermap.com), CC BY 4.0, derived from the USGS/EPA Water Quality Portal; file generated 2026-07-22. License

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Softener size at 3.7 gpg

For a 3-person home using 57 gallons per person per day and regenerating weekly, you'd remove about 4,429 grains between regenerations. Suggested size: 24,000 grain. This uses a low-confidence county estimate, so confirm with a test first.

Estimate only. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Open the softener calculator with 3.7 gpg

Largest water systems in Pulaski County

The 6 biggest of 11 community water systems on EPA records for this county. Service areas don't follow county lines; your water bill names your provider.

Central Arkansas Water

AR0000465 · serves about 368,455 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action level✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: 1 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Jacksonville Waterworks

AR0000466 · serves about 32,875 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action level✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: 1.2 ppb (period starting 2026-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Cabot Waterworks

AR0000338 · serves about 27,578 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action level✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: 1 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Us Air Force Base Little Rock

AR0000690 · serves about 8,618 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action level✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: 1 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Mid-Arkansas Utilities P.W.A

AR0000725 · serves about 11,745 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action level✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: 1 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Maumelle Water Corporation

AR0000464 · serves about 2,832 people · Groundwater

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS: not sampled

Lead 90th percentile: 2 ppb (period starting 2002-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

A PFAS detection is not a violation. Federal limits (4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS) apply to running annual averages, with compliance required by 2029. In May 2026 EPA proposed extending the PFOA/PFOS deadline to 2031 and removing other PFAS limits; not final as of 2026-10-21.

Test your own tap

These are public records for whole systems. Your home's pipes, fixtures and any private well can change what you drink. A certified lab test or a hardness test strip gives you your own numbers. Then use our PFAS and lead filter selector to see which certifications to look for.

Common questions about Pulaski County water

Is tap water in Pulaski County safe to drink?

None of the 6 largest systems here have a health-based violation in EPA records since October 2021. Central Arkansas Water's most recent lead 90th percentile was 1 ppb (2023), below the 15 ppb action level. Public records can't guarantee what comes out of your tap, especially with older plumbing, so a home test is the surest check.

How hard is the water in Pulaski County?

There's no published utility figure in our data, but untreated local stream and well samples in Pulaski County have a median of about 3.7 grains per gallon (63 mg/L, moderately hard). That's a low-confidence estimate of source water, not your tap, so test before you buy equipment. For a 3-person home at 3.7 gpg, our softener calculator suggests a 24,000 grain unit as a starting point.

Is there PFAS in Pulaski County water?

None of the 5 sampled systems listed here detected PFAS above EPA's reporting levels in UCMR 5 testing.

Which water system serves my address in Pulaski County?

Most homes are served by Central Arkansas Water or one of the other systems listed on this page, but service areas don't follow county lines. Your water bill names your provider, and its annual Consumer Confidence Report has the full test results.

Sources for this page

Data as of October 21, 2026. Figures are copied from public records and combined with our own calculations; they can be out of date or wrong. Tapped Out isn't affiliated with any utility or the EPA. Written and reviewed by the Tapped Out team. How we calculate · All sources.