Wayne County, Michigan — public water systems

At a glance

55 active public water systems are filed under Wayne County, Michigan in EPA's SDWIS records, together reporting 1,783,512 people served. The largest is City of Detroit, which reports serving 633,218 people. 44 are community water systems serving people where they live; the other 11 are non-community systems, such as schools, workplaces, campgrounds and gas stations with their own supply.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO, refreshed quarterly.

Active systems

Population served

1.8M

Community systems

Groundwater share

18.2%

How does Wayne County compare with other Michigan counties?

Wayne County has the 68th-most active public water systems among the 131 counties listed for active Michigan systems in EPA records; among the 88 with 3 or more systems, the median has 92. Its systems report 1,783,512 people served in total, the largest county figure in the state and 20% of the statewide total. The average system here reports serving 32,428 people, about 38 times the Michigan average of 847. Population figures are what each system reports; people served by more than one system, such as a wholesaler and the town that buys from it, are counted by each.

Where does Wayne County's drinking water come from?

By primary water source, Wayne County's active systems draw on purchased surface water (41, 75%), groundwater (10, 18%) and surface water (4, 7.3%). Overall, 18% rely mainly on groundwater (including purchased groundwater) and 82% on surface water, compared with 97% and 3.1% across Michigan. Purchased surface water means the system buys surface water from another public water system rather than drawing its own. The county's largest system, City of Detroit, draws primarily on purchased surface water.

What kinds of water systems operate in Wayne County?

Wayne County's active systems break down as 44 community systems (80%), 2 non-transient non-community systems (3.6%) and 9 transient non-community systems (16%). 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. A non-transient non-community water system regularly serves at least 25 of the same people for more than six months a year, but not where they live. Schools, factories, office buildings and hospitals with their own supply are typical examples. A transient non-community water system serves places where people do not stay long, such as gas stations and campgrounds, and regularly serves at least 25 people a day for at least 60 days a year. EPA lists their owner types as local government (80%), private (13%) and state government (7.3%).

The 50 largest water systems in Wayne County

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Active public water systems in Wayne County, Michigan
#	Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
1	Detroit City of	Wayne	633,218	Community	Purchased surface water
2	Dearborn	Wayne	109,976	Community	Purchased surface water
3	Canton Township	Wayne	99,627	Community	Surface water
4	Livonia	Wayne	96,942	Community	Purchased surface water
5	Westland	Wayne	85,420	Community	Purchased surface water
6	Taylor	Wayne	63,409	Community	Purchased surface water
7	Dearborn Heights	Wayne	57,774	Community	Purchased surface water
8	Redford Township	Wayne	49,504	Community	Purchased surface water
9	Lincoln Park	Wayne	38,144	Community	Purchased surface water
10	Brownstown Township	Wayne	33,194	Community	Purchased surface water
11	Northville Township	Wayne	32,103	Community	Purchased surface water
12	Southgate	Wayne	30,047	Community	Purchased surface water
13	Hamtramck	Wayne	28,433	Community	Purchased surface water
14	Allen Park	Wayne	28,210	Community	Purchased surface water
15	Garden City	Wayne	27,625	Community	Purchased surface water
16	Plymouth Township	Wayne	27,524	Community	Purchased surface water
17	Van Buren Township	Wayne	27,359	Community	Purchased surface water
18	Wyandotte	Wayne	25,883	Community	Surface water
19	Inkster	Wayne	25,076	Community	Purchased surface water
20	Romulus	Wayne	23,989	Community	Purchased surface water
21	Trenton	Wayne	18,544	Community	Purchased surface water
22	Wayne	Wayne	17,713	Community	Purchased surface water
23	Huron Twp	Wayne	16,944	Community	Purchased surface water
24	Grosse Pointe Woods	Wayne	16,135	Community	Purchased surface water
25	Harper Woods	Wayne	14,236	Community	Purchased surface water
26	Woodhaven	Wayne	12,941	Community	Purchased surface water
27	Melvindale	Wayne	12,851	Community	Purchased surface water
28	Riverview	Wayne	12,486	Community	Purchased surface water
29	Grosse Pointe Park	Wayne	11,555	Community	Purchased surface water
30	Grosse Ile Township	Wayne	10,788	Community	Purchased surface water
31	Flat Rock	Wayne	10,541	Community	Purchased surface water
32	Grosse Pointe Farms	Wayne	9,757	Community	Surface water
33	Sumpter Township	Wayne	9,576	Community	Purchased surface water
34	Ecorse	Wayne	9,305	Community	Purchased surface water
35	Plymouth	Wayne	9,132	Community	Purchased surface water
36	Highland Park	Wayne	8,977	Community	Purchased surface water
37	River Rouge	Wayne	7,224	Community	Purchased surface water
38	Northville	Wayne	6,119	Community	Purchased surface water
39	Grosse Pointe, City of	Wayne	5,421	Community	Purchased surface water
40	Gibraltar	Wayne	4,997	Community	Purchased surface water
41	Belleville	Wayne	3,964	Community	Purchased surface water
42	Mgm Grand Casino-Detroit	Wayne	3,700	Non-transient non-community	Purchased surface water
43	Rockwood	Wayne	3,240	Community	Purchased surface water
44	Grosse Pointe Shores	Wayne	2,929	Community	Purchased surface water
45	Dnr-Maybury State Pk/Oak Shelter Picnic	Wayne	200	Transient non-community	Groundwater
46	Omelette & Waffle Cafe	Wayne	200	Transient non-community	Groundwater
47	Colony Swim Club	Wayne	200	Transient non-community	Groundwater
48	Little Seeds Child Development Center	Wayne	105	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater
49	Dnr-Maybury State Pk/Main Conc Stand Wel	Wayne	100	Transient non-community	Groundwater
50	Friends of Thayer'S Corner Nature Area	Wayne	50	Transient non-community	Groundwater

All other water systems in Wayne County (4)

The remaining active systems filed under Wayne County, largest first, with the population each reports serving.

Wayne County water systems: frequently asked questions

How many public water systems are in Wayne County, Michigan?

EPA's SDWIS records file 55 active public water systems under Wayne County, Michigan: 44 community systems (80%), 2 non-transient non-community systems (3.6%) and 9 transient non-community systems (16%).

Who supplies drinking water in Wayne County, MI?

The largest community water systems filed under Wayne County are City of Detroit (633,218 people served), Dearborn (109,976 people served) and Canton Township (99,627 people served). Which system serves a particular address depends on its service area, which EPA's SDWIS records do not include; a water bill or the local utility can confirm it.

Does Wayne County's drinking water come from groundwater or surface water?

Of the 55 active public water systems in Wayne County, 18% draw mainly on groundwater and 82% on surface water, counting purchased supplies. The largest system, City of Detroit, uses purchased surface water.

Where can I find a water quality report for Wayne County?

Each community water system must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1, covering the previous calendar year. 44 community systems are filed under Wayne County, so the report to look for is the one from the system that supplies your address.

How can I check violations for a water system in Wayne County?

Open the system's profile from the list on this page. Each profile shows the most recent Safe Drinking Water Act violations in EPA's records, with plain-English labels and whether each one is resolved. For current compliance status, EPA ECHO is the primary source.

More Michigan water systems

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, “Public water systems in Wayne County, Michigan”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/michigan/wayne (data as of October 1, 2026).