Free Nevada water report: PFAS & lead levels for every water system, worst-affected cities, and EPA violations. Check your ZIP.
Nevada is the driest state in the country, and its approximately 3.2 million residents depend on water sources that are under constant pressure from scarcity. The Las Vegas metropolitan area – home to over 2.2 million people – draws nearly all of its drinking water from Lake Mead via the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). Lake Mead, fed by the Colorado River, has been in a well-documented decline for over two decades, with water levels dropping to historic lows in recent years. Reno and the northern part of the state rely on the Truckee River and local groundwater. Rural communities across the state depend almost entirely on groundwater wells, many of which tap into basins with limited recharge. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) oversees drinking water compliance, but the fundamental constraint shaping water quality in Nevada is that there is not much water to begin with.
Nevada has one of the most significant military PFAS exposure footprints in the country. Nellis Air Force Base, located within the Las Vegas metro area, has been linked to PFAS contamination affecting an estimated 1.95 million people in the surrounding service area – one of the largest exposed populations tied to a single military installation in the United States. AFFF used in firefighting training at Nellis over decades has left PFAS in groundwater that intersects with local water supply infrastructure.
NAS Fallon, a naval air station in Churchill County, carries a different and deeply troubling history. The community around Fallon experienced a childhood leukemia cluster in the early 2000s that drew national attention. While the cluster's cause was never definitively attributed to a single source, PFAS contamination from AFFF use at the base has been confirmed in local groundwater, and the community remains under ongoing health surveillance.
The EPA's UCMR5 testing program has documented PFAS detections at multiple Nevada water systems. The 2024 federal MCLs of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS now apply to all Nevada utilities, and several systems are evaluating treatment options. Our data integrates UCMR5 results with Department of Defense testing and state monitoring to provide address-level contamination mapping.
Nevada's PFAS situation is defined by military contamination layered on top of extreme water scarcity. Unlike states in the Northeast or Midwest where alternative water sources might be available, Nevada's options for switching supply sources are severely limited. If a well or intake is contaminated, there may not be a clean alternative nearby.
The scale of the Nellis AFB exposure – nearly 2 million people in the potential impact zone – places Nevada among the most affected states by population, even though it has fewer total contamination sites than states like Michigan or New Jersey. The NAS Fallon situation adds a dimension of health impact that goes beyond standard PFAS monitoring.
Compared to neighboring states, Nevada has not adopted state-specific PFAS MCLs, relying on the federal standards. California to the west and Arizona to the south are further along in PFAS regulatory development, though all three share the challenge of managing contamination in water-scarce environments.
Water quality varies across Nevada depending on your source – Lake Mead via SNWA in the south, the Truckee River system in the north, or groundwater in rural areas.
1. Check your water quality using our free lookup tool. We map military and utility monitoring data to your ZIP code so you can see what has been detected near your home. 2. If PFAS is present at concerning levels, a reverse osmosis system offers the highest removal rates – over 90% for most PFAS compounds. Our water filter guide compares systems by independent test performance, not manufacturer marketing. 3. For a complete picture including military contamination data and historical trends, request a detailed water report for your address.
For more on PFAS science, see our PFAS guide.
Nevada's water history is a story of engineered scarcity management. The Hoover Dam, completed in 1935, created Lake Mead and made large-scale settlement in southern Nevada possible. The Colorado River Compact and subsequent agreements allocated water among seven states, and Nevada received the smallest share – just 300,000 acre-feet per year. As Las Vegas grew from a small desert town to a metropolitan area of over 2 million, SNWA invested heavily in conservation, reclamation, and infrastructure. Las Vegas now recycles nearly all indoor water use back to Lake Mead, effectively stretching its allocation.
But the Colorado River basin has been in a structural deficit since the early 2000s, with demand exceeding supply. Lake Mead's surface elevation dropped below 1,050 feet in 2022, triggering federal shortage declarations and mandatory cutbacks. SNWA completed a third intake – the Low Lake Level Pumping Station – at the bottom of the reservoir to ensure water access even at critically low levels.
Military PFAS contamination entered Nevada's water picture as testing expanded in the mid-2010s. Nellis AFB, operational since 1941, used AFFF extensively across its large complex of runways and training areas. The base sits within the Las Vegas Valley, and groundwater beneath and around it connects to the broader basin that some local wells tap. NAS Fallon's contamination drew attention earlier due to the leukemia cluster, and the Department of Defense has conducted multiple rounds of testing and supplied bottled water to affected residents at various points.
The intersection of PFAS contamination and water scarcity creates a problem with no easy solution. Treatment is expensive, alternative sources are limited, and the population continues to grow. Check your specific address to see what the monitoring data shows for your part of Nevada.