Gainesville
Gainesville, FL water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
gru - murphree wtp
groundwater (wells) · mixed ownership · PWSID FL2010946
Below EPA's 15 ppb lead action level at last testing.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) · 2026 Q1
Gainesville is a mid-sized city and the 14th-largest in Florida, home to roughly 130,128 residents. Gainesville's drinking water comes largely from the same regional sources that serve Florida: Floridan aquifer, Biscayne aquifer, and surface water.
As elsewhere in Florida, the central challenge is saltwater intrusion. Florida reuses roughly half its treated wastewater — one of the highest rates nationally — while fighting saltwater intrusion into the aquifers that supply South Florida.
Florida reuses an estimated 49% of its treated wastewater and maintains established reuse programs; Gainesville tracks severe to extreme drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
Explore the Florida profile for statewide context, or dig into the water issues shaping Gainesville below.
Alachua County water quality
Source: EPA SDWIS · 2026 Q1
At a glance
- Population ~130,128 (14th-largest in Florida)
- Primary sources: Floridan aquifer, Biscayne aquifer, and surface water
- Drought: severe to extreme conditions
- State reuse rate: ~49% of wastewater
Statewide drought history
% of Florida in severe+ drought (Extreme (D3) now).
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Gainesville?
Gainesville's largest water system, GRU - MURPHREE WTP, serves about 195,681 people. EPA records show 0 health-based violation(s) since 2016 and a most-recent 90th-percentile lead level of 0.7 ppb (EPA action level is 15 ppb). Always check your own provider's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Where does Gainesville get its water?
GRU - MURPHREE WTP draws primarily from groundwater (wells), part of Florida's supply from Floridan aquifer, Biscayne aquifer, surface water.
Related water issues
Saltwater Intrusion
As coastal aquifers are over-pumped and seas rise, saltwater pushes inland and contaminates freshwater supplies for cities from Florida to California.
ExplorePotable Reuse
Advanced purification turns treated wastewater into water that meets or exceeds drinking-water standards — increasingly essential in water-stressed regions.
ExploreAging Infrastructure
Much of America's water infrastructure is decades past its design life, leaking trillions of gallons a year and demanding hundreds of billions in reinvestment.
ExploreAgricultural Demand
Agriculture accounts for the majority of consumptive water use in the West, making farm efficiency and water markets central to any supply solution.
Explore