Nebraska Water Quality Report (2026)

By Echo Water Research Team 16 min read
Nebraska Water Quality Report (2026)

Nebraska Tap Water Quality Report

455 cities analyzed • 1,337,793 people served

Updated March 2026 • Data from EWG & EPA SDWIS

455
Cities Analyzed
4.7
Avg Above Guidelines
1,337,793
Total Population Served
Best Water Quality
Macy (0 above guidelines)
Most Concerns
South Sioux City (20 above guidelines)

Most Common Contaminants in Nebraska

Contaminant Found In % of Cities
Nitrate and nitrite carcinogen 361 of 455 79%
Arsenic carcinogen 350 of 455 77%
Barium 322 of 455 71%
Fluoride 313 of 455 69%
Radium, combined (-226 and -228) 279 of 455 61%
Chromium (total) 224 of 455 49%
Selenium 205 of 455 45%
Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) carcinogen 107 of 455 24%
Dibromochloromethane carcinogen 94 of 455 21%
Bromodichloromethane carcinogen 90 of 455 20%

City-by-City Water Quality Rankings

Ranked by number of contaminants above EWG health guidelines (most to fewest).

# City Detected Above Guidelines Above Legal People Served
1 South Sioux City 44 20 1 14,043
2 Grand Island 33 18 0 51,478
3 Alda 33 18 0 0
4 Minatare 28 17 0 0
5 Papillion 27 16 0 35,000
6 Kearney 27 16 0 33,790
7 Lincoln 27 15 0 292,000
8 Fremont 27 15 0 27,141
9 Columbus 24 15 0 24,028
10 Scottsbluff 26 15 0 14,282
11 Waterloo 28 15 0 962
12 Bellevue 29 15 0 357
13 Farmington Hills 27 15 0 350
14 Omaha 28 14 0 600,000
15 Gering 20 14 1 1,143
16 Studio City 28 14 0 100
17 Stromsburg 20 14 0 0
18 Alliance 22 14 0 0
19 Auburn 20 14 0 0
20 Norfolk 25 13 0 25,177
21 Falls City 16 13 0 980
22 Blair 21 13 0 100
23 Wakefield 15 13 0 0
24 Clarks 15 13 0 0
25 Beatrice 18 12 0 12,220
26 Hickman 15 12 0 2,832
27 St Paul 15 12 0 2,416
28 Crawford 18 12 0 840
29 Trumbull 26 12 0 194
30 Wynot 17 12 0 135
31 Brownville 19 12 0 132
32 Obert 17 12 0 58
33 Denton 15 12 0 0
34 Rulo 15 12 0 0
35 Crofton 17 12 0 0
36 West Point 19 12 0 0
37 Mccook 16 12 0 0
38 Kennard 22 12 0 0
39 Filley 18 12 0 0
40 Dakota City 14 12 0 0
41 St Helena 17 12 0 0
42 Nebraksa City 16 11 0 7,289
43 Chadron 17 11 0 6,257
44 Louisville 16 11 0 1,301
45 Nebraska City 17 11 0 1,300
46 Talmage 13 11 0 266
47 White Cloud 11 11 0 200
48 Whitney 14 11 0 57
49 Wahoo 13 11 0 25
50 Superior 13 11 0 0
51 Bridgeport 16 11 0 0
52 Lyons 13 11 0 0
53 Scribner 14 11 0 0
54 Walthill 13 11 0 0
55 Mead 13 11 0 0
56 Prague 14 11 0 0
57 Peru 15 11 0 0
58 David City 13 11 0 0
59 Creighton 20 11 0 0
60 North Platte 25 10 0 25,000
61 Valley 14 10 0 3,074
62 Plattsmouth 14 10 0 2,880
63 Houston 10 10 0 100
64 Craig 12 10 0 0
65 Valparaiso 14 10 0 0
66 Herman 11 10 0 0
67 Shelby 14 10 0 0
68 Minden 11 9 0 3,118
69 Oakland 11 9 0 3,000
70 Fairbury 16 9 0 1,580
71 North Bend 13 9 0 1,279
72 Arlington 14 9 0 300
73 Uehling 11 9 0 241
74 Fairmont 15 9 0 0
75 Pilger 12 9 0 0
76 Nehawka 13 9 0 0
77 Seward 16 9 0 0
78 Ashland 15 9 0 0
79 Fort Calhoun 12 9 0 0
80 Decatur 12 9 0 0
81 Wilber 14 9 0 0
82 Sargent 14 9 0 0
83 Sidney 12 8 0 6,720
84 Ravenna 14 8 0 1,457
85 Pender 11 8 0 1,100
86 Nemaha 8 8 0 190
87 Reynolds 9 8 0 60
88 Raymond 13 8 0 0
89 Emerson 11 8 0 0
90 Benkelman 13 8 0 0
91 Bayard 12 8 0 0
92 Greeley 10 7 0 0
93 Butte 9 7 0 0
94 Wayne 12 7 0 0
95 Rosalie 7 7 0 0
96 Hastings 20 6 0 24,927
97 Lexington 18 6 0 10,230
98 Hartington 14 6 0 1,436
99 Winnebago 9 6 0 745
100 Paxton 9 6 1 484
101 Littleton 20 6 0 180
102 Eagle 10 6 0 104
103 Exeter 11 6 0 0
104 Dawson 8 6 0 0
105 Duncan 8 6 0 0
106 Utica 8 6 0 0
107 Maskell 6 6 0 0
108 Palisade 13 6 0 0
109 Dorchester 9 6 1 0
110 Milford 12 6 0 0
111 Cozad 14 5 0 3,915
112 Wauneta 9 5 0 543
113 Murray 12 5 0 480
114 Palmer 9 5 0 472
115 Snyder 9 5 0 300
116 Chapman 7 5 0 292
117 Dix 9 5 0 0
118 Winside 9 5 0 0
119 Morse Bluff 9 5 0 0
120 Wisner 8 5 1 0
121 Aurora 11 5 0 0
122 Holdrege 10 5 0 0
123 Laurel 8 5 0 0
124 Stanton 12 5 0 0
125 Bladen 10 5 0 0
126 Clatonia 9 5 0 0
127 Cordova 9 5 0 0
128 Murdock 5 5 0 0
129 Leigh 9 5 0 0
130 Fairfield 9 5 0 0
131 Friend 9 5 0 0
132 Valentine 5 4 0 2,737
133 Ord 7 4 0 2,112
134 Sutton 10 4 0 1,447
135 Lyman 7 4 0 1,368
136 Battle Creek 8 4 0 1,194
137 Weeping Water 8 4 0 1,107
138 Oshkosh 6 4 0 809
139 Arnold 8 4 0 597
140 North Loup 7 4 0 297
141 Chambers 8 4 0 288
142 Henry 7 4 0 163
143 Newcastle 4 4 1 78
144 Mitchell 8 4 0 28
145 Denver 6 4 0 20
146 St Edward 8 4 0 0
147 Scotia 8 4 0 0
148 Fullerton 7 4 0 0
149 Coleridge 8 4 0 0
150 Waterbury 8 4 0 0
151 Allen 9 4 0 0
152 Elba 8 4 0 0
153 Beaver City 9 4 0 0
154 Platte Center 8 4 0 0
155 Bloomfield 8 4 0 0
156 Center 7 4 0 0
157 Broken Bow 10 4 0 0
158 Gibbon 7 4 0 0
159 Hordville 6 4 0 0
160 Funk 8 4 0 0
161 Bushnell 4 4 0 0
162 Upland 8 4 0 0
163 Chappell 7 4 0 0
164 Potter 6 4 0 0
165 Sutherland 7 4 0 0
166 Morrill 7 4 0 0
167 Ceresco 7 4 0 0
168 Bee 9 4 0 0
169 Elk Creek 7 4 0 0
170 Endicott 4 4 0 0
171 Clarkson 9 4 0 0
172 Schuyler 11 4 0 0
173 Ogallala 9 3 0 4,878
174 O'neill 7 3 0 3,705
175 Gothenburg 4 3 0 3,578
176 Central City 8 3 0 3,000
177 Syracuse 6 3 0 2,500
178 Madison 7 3 0 2,135
179 Imperial 8 3 0 2,071
180 Elmwood 4 3 0 1,860
181 Pierce 9 3 0 1,800
182 Hebron 8 3 0 1,565
183 Plainview 7 3 1 1,282
184 Cambridge 7 3 0 1,071
185 Loup City 7 3 0 1,045
186 Johnson 7 3 0 1,011
187 Franklin 8 3 0 989
188 Tecumseh 7 3 0 977
189 Tilden 7 3 0 957
190 Randolph 7 3 0 944
191 Kenesaw 7 3 0 909
192 Rushville 7 3 0 888
193 Osmond 7 3 0 870
194 Doniphan 6 3 0 829
195 Clay Center 7 3 0 801
196 Juniata 7 3 0 757
197 Oxford 7 3 0 719
198 Beemer 7 3 0 650
199 Firth 7 3 0 640
200 Hay Springs 6 3 0 614
201 Overton 7 3 1 600
202 Palmyra 6 3 0 560
203 Union 7 3 0 420
204 Ewing 7 3 0 367
205 Pleasanton 7 3 0 367
206 Unadilla 6 3 0 311
207 Maxwell 6 3 0 310
208 Meadow Grove 6 3 0 301
209 Springfield 4 3 0 300
210 Otoe 6 3 0 288
211 Roseland 6 3 0 250
212 Sumner 7 3 0 220
213 Stamford 7 3 0 202
214 Springview 5 3 0 200
215 Thedford 6 3 0 200
216 Alma 8 3 0 200
217 Manley 6 3 0 195
218 Royal 6 3 0 180
219 Farnam 3 3 0 170
220 Litchfield 7 3 0 151
221 Miller 4 3 0 136
222 Grafton 6 3 0 125
223 Bow Valley 3 3 0 120
224 Jansen 6 3 0 118
225 Laguna Beach 3 3 0 115
226 Memphis 6 3 0 106
227 Ruskin 7 3 0 105
228 Kilgore 3 3 0 99
229 Republican City 6 3 0 80
230 Norton 3 3 0 71
231 Hubbell 6 3 0 68
232 Johnson Lake 5 3 0 60
233 Marquette 3 3 0 60
234 Carleton 7 3 0 0
235 Ohiowa 5 3 0 0
236 Spencer 5 3 0 0
237 Ansley 7 3 0 0
238 Burwell 7 3 0 0
239 Elm Creek 8 3 0 0
240 Wolbach 6 3 0 0
241 Campbell 7 3 0 0
242 Lawrence 7 3 0 0
243 Moorefield 8 3 0 0
244 Brule 3 3 0 0
245 Bradshaw 8 3 0 0
246 Chester 5 3 0 0
247 Douglas 6 3 0 0
248 Sprague 4 3 0 0
249 Pleasant Dale 7 3 0 0
250 Staplehurst 7 3 0 0
251 Western 7 3 0 0
252 Primrose 7 3 0 0
253 Brunswick 7 3 0 0
254 Newport 6 3 0 0
255 Hampton 7 3 0 0
256 Bertrand 7 3 0 0
257 Hildreth 7 3 0 0
258 Stratton 7 3 0 0
259 Petersburg 7 3 0 0
260 Ashton 6 3 0 0
261 Broadwater 4 3 1 0
262 Grant 6 3 0 0
263 Greenwood 7 3 0 0
264 Odell 7 3 0 0
265 Swanton 7 3 0 0
266 Pickrell 7 3 0 0
267 Stella 7 3 0 0
268 Table Rock 5 3 0 0
269 Shickley 7 3 0 0
270 Ong 6 3 0 0
271 Neligh 7 3 0 0
272 Arcadia 5 3 0 0
273 Dannebrog 6 3 0 0
274 Tobias 7 3 0 0
275 Waco 6 3 0 0
276 Cedar Rapids 7 3 0 0
277 Howells 7 3 0 0
278 Osceola 7 3 0 0
279 Spalding 6 3 0 0
280 Anselmo 6 3 0 0
281 Edgar 8 3 0 0
282 Genoa 6 3 0 0
283 Lindsay 7 3 0 0
284 Phillips 6 3 1 0
285 Merna 7 3 0 0
286 Axtell 5 3 0 0
287 Loomis 7 3 0 0
288 Harvard 6 3 0 0
289 Orleans 7 3 0 0
290 Edison 4 3 0 0
291 Ainsworth 6 3 0 0
292 Deweese 4 3 0 0
293 Glenvil 7 3 0 0
294 Smithfield 3 3 0 0
295 Haigler 7 3 0 0
296 Maywood 6 3 0 0
297 Curtis 6 3 0 0
298 Stockville 7 3 0 0
299 Indianola 7 3 0 0
300 Eustis 6 3 0 0
301 Brady 6 3 0 0
302 Venango 3 3 0 0
303 Big Springs 5 3 0 0
304 Gurley 6 3 0 0
305 Harrison 5 3 0 0
306 Trenton 3 3 0 0
307 Byron 4 3 0 0
308 Cook 7 3 0 0
309 Alexandria 7 3 0 0
310 Davey 3 3 0 0
311 Holland 8 3 0 0
312 Avoca 6 3 0 0
313 Bruning 3 3 0 0
314 Davenport 7 3 0 0
315 Deshler 6 3 0 0
316 Abie 3 3 0 0
317 Bancroft 7 3 0 0
318 Crab Orchard 7 3 0 0
319 Crete 5 3 0 0
320 Weston 6 3 0 0
321 Geneva 5 3 0 0
322 Milligan 7 3 0 0
323 Belgrade 4 3 0 0
324 Monroe 7 3 0 0
325 Polk 7 3 0 0
326 Dewitt 7 3 0 0
327 Henderson 7 3 0 0
328 Albion 8 3 0 0
329 Elgin 7 3 0 0
330 Rising City 8 3 0 0
331 Nelson 7 3 0 0
332 Benedict 7 3 0 0
333 Julian 3 3 0 0
334 Brailnard 6 3 0 0
335 Humphrey 7 3 0 0
336 Bristow 5 3 0 0
337 Ponca 7 3 0 0
338 Bennet 8 2 0 6,000
339 Gordon 6 2 0 1,500
340 Wood River 5 2 0 1,204
341 Shelton 5 2 0 1,059
342 Red Cloud 6 2 0 1,020
343 Cairo 4 2 0 785
344 Newman Grove 6 2 0 721
345 Elwood 7 2 0 670
346 Dodge 6 2 0 612
347 Verdigre 5 2 0 565
348 Stuart 6 2 0 486
349 Elkhorn 6 2 0 450
350 Bellwood 4 2 0 435
351 Wallace 6 2 0 366
352 Wilcox 7 2 0 360
353 Long Pine 5 2 0 305
354 York 4 2 0 300
355 Blue Springs 6 2 0 280
356 Roca 8 2 0 222
357 Riverdale 6 2 0 210
358 Holstein 2 2 0 187
359 Ulysses 4 2 0 176
360 Hyannis 3 2 0 168
361 Page 6 2 0 166
362 Cody 2 2 0 149
363 Cedar Bluffs 3 2 0 136
364 Gretna 5 2 0 125
365 Merriman 4 2 0 118
366 Rockville 2 2 0 111
367 Dunning 2 2 0 103
368 Atkinson 2 2 0 100
369 Winnetoon 5 2 0 75
370 Concord 5 2 0 74
371 Wood Lake 4 2 0 70
372 Crookston 4 2 0 69
373 Diller 7 2 0 65
374 Naper 2 2 0 51
375 Waverly 6 2 0 40
376 Lynch 3 2 0 30
377 Ragan 7 2 0 25
378 Garland 5 2 0 0
379 Dwight 5 2 0 0
380 Ericson 5 2 0 0
381 Rogers 2 2 0 0
382 Riverton 7 2 0 0
383 Hallam 5 2 0 0
384 Liberty 2 2 0 0
385 Boelus 6 2 0 0
386 Callaway 6 2 0 0
387 Farwell 2 2 0 0
388 Culbertson 2 2 0 0
389 Hayes Center 5 2 0 0
390 Dalton 4 2 0 0
391 Lodgepole 5 2 0 0
392 Mullen 5 2 0 0
393 Panama 4 2 0 0
394 Bartlett 2 2 0 0
395 Carroll 6 2 0 0
396 Bloomington 3 2 0 0
397 Danbury 2 2 0 0
398 Goehner 6 2 0 0
399 Gresham 7 2 0 0
400 Mccool Junction 2 2 0 0
401 Plymouth 6 2 0 0
402 Orchard 6 2 0 0
403 Giltner 5 2 0 0
404 Oconto 5 2 0 0
405 Creston 6 2 0 0
406 Bassett 5 2 0 0
407 Mason City 6 2 0 0
408 Amherst 7 2 0 0
409 Comstock 5 2 0 0
410 Blue Hill 6 2 0 0
411 Stapleton 5 2 0 0
412 Holbrook 6 2 0 0
413 Hersey 5 2 0 0
414 Lebanon 3 2 0 0
415 Kimball 2 2 0 0
416 Elsie 2 2 0 0
417 Madrid 2 2 0 0
418 Hemingford 7 2 0 0
419 Homer 6 2 0 0
420 Malmo 2 2 0 0
421 Tekamah 6 2 0 0
422 Dunbar 2 2 0 0
423 Beaver Crossing 4 2 0 0
424 Yutan 5 2 0 0
425 Cortland 6 2 0 0
426 Ithaca 2 2 0 0
427 Daykin 5 2 0 0
428 Malcolm 5 2 0 0
429 Silver Creek 3 2 0 0
430 Clearwater 6 2 0 0
431 Hoskins 5 2 0 0
432 Alvo 2 2 0 0
433 Wymore 6 2 0 0
434 Sterling 5 2 0 0
435 Verdon 4 2 0 0
436 Oakdale 6 2 0 0
437 Arapahoe 6 2 0 0
438 Dixon 5 2 0 0
439 Adams 5 2 0 0
440 Pawnee City 5 1 0 1,500
441 Humboldt 5 1 0 812
442 Wausa 5 1 0 0
443 Dubois 5 1 0 0
444 Lewiston 5 1 0 0
445 Steinauer 5 1 0 0
446 Hooper 4 1 0 0
447 Burchard 5 1 0 0
448 Brock 1 1 0 0
449 Burr 2 1 1 0
450 Macy 0 0 0 1,800
451 Niobrara 0 0 0 751
452 Guide Rock 0 0 0 225
453 Belden 0 0 0 112
454 Magnet 0 0 0 0
455 Bruno 58 0 0 0

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Recommended Filtration for Nebraska

Based on the most common contaminants found across Nebraska (Nitrate and nitrite, Arsenic, Barium), we recommend a reverse osmosis (RO) system — the only technology proven to remove heavy metals, PFAS, and most other contaminants to safe levels.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Nebraska tap water safe to drink?

Water quality varies significantly across Nebraska. Of the 455 cities analyzed, the average city has 4.7 contaminants above EWG health guidelines. The best water quality was found in Macy. We recommend checking your specific city's report for detailed information.

What city has the best water in Nebraska?

Based on our analysis, Macy has the fewest contaminants above EWG health guidelines in Nebraska, with 0 above guideline levels.

What city has the worst water in Nebraska?

Based on our analysis, South Sioux City has the most contaminants above EWG health guidelines in Nebraska, with 20 above guideline levels.

What's the best water filter for Nebraska residents?

For most Nebraska households, we recommend a reverse osmosis (RO) system for drinking water and a whole-home filter for showers and baths. The specific recommendation depends on your city's contaminant profile — check your city's report for personalized guidance.

Data sources: Environmental Working Group (EWG) Tap Water Database, U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)

Last updated: March 2026

Methodology: Contaminant levels are compared against both EPA legal limits (Maximum Contaminant Levels) and EWG health guidelines, which are often stricter and based on the latest scientific research.

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