Public water system · AZ0405005
ActiveSafford City of
At a glance
City of Safford (PWSID AZ0405005) is an active community water system in Graham County, Arizona. It reports serving 20,600 people through 8,152 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
20,600
Service connections
8,152
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does City of Safford compare with other water systems in Graham County?
By EPA's size categories, City of Safford is a large system (10,001 to 100,000 people). Graham County has 16 active public water systems, and City of Safford is the largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 11 times the county average of 1,859 people per system, and accounts for 69% of the 29,739 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Arizona, the 1,769 active systems average 4,369 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so City of Safford is about 3.1 times that figure.
What does “community water system” mean?
A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. Homes, apartments and mobile-home parks are served by these. Arizona has 936 active community water systems, 53% of the state's 1,769 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 1,612 Arizona systems (91%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates City of Safford?
EPA lists City of Safford as owned by a local government. The AZ state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 2 of the 16 active systems in Graham County (13%) are also owned by a local government.
Does City of Safford have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025. The violations listed here began between January 2019 and October 2025. By type: 7 monitoring and reporting, 2 public notice, recordkeeping or other, 2 reporting and 1 required treatment not met. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Public Notice (2 of them). EPA lists 11 as resolved and 1 as unaddressed. Resolved means at least one resolving action is on record: the system returned to compliance, the rule no longer applies, or no further action was needed. Unaddressed means the violation is not resolved or archived and is not yet covered by formal enforcement.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-02 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-11-10 | Required treatment not metFailure To Address Deficiency · code 45 | Groundwater Rulecode 0700 | Yes | Unaddressed |
| 2024-09-22 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation without NPDWR Violation · code 76 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-02-01 | ReportingReport Sample Result/Fail Monitor (RTCR) · code 4B | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-05-01 | ReportingReport Sample Result/Fail Monitor (RTCR) · code 4B | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nickelcode 1036 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Arseniccode 1005 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Cadmiumcode 1015 | No | Resolved |
The 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, newest first.Labels and codes come from EPA's SDWIS reference tables. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found. "Health-based" marks violations of a legal limit or required treatment.
City of Safford: frequently asked questions
Who runs City of Safford?
City of Safford (PWSID AZ0405005) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the AZ state drinking water program.
How many people does City of Safford serve?
City of Safford reports serving 20,600 people through 8,152 service connections in Graham County, Arizona.
Where does City of Safford get its water?
EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers.
Does City of Safford have any drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found.
Is City of Safford's water safe to drink?
AquaCensus shows EPA compliance records, not current water test results, so it cannot say whether the water is safe at a given moment. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the AZ state drinking water program.
Where can I find City of Safford's water quality report?
As a community water system, City of Safford must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year. The system can provide a copy on request.
Other water systems in Graham County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham County Utilities - Pima | Graham | 3,799 | Community | Groundwater |
| Freeport Mcmoran Safford | Graham | 1,619 | Non-transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Usdj Fbp Fed Corr Inst Safford | Graham | 949 | Community | Groundwater |
| Adoc Aspc Fort Grant | Graham | 800 | Community | Groundwater |
| Graham County Utilities-Fort Thomas | Graham | 452 | Community | Groundwater |
| Eden Water Company Inc. | Graham | 400 | Community | Purchased groundwater |
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About this data
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: AquaCensus, “Safford City of, PWSID AZ0405005, Arizona”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/arizona/safford-city-of-az0405005 (data as of October 1, 2026).