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County water report

Baldwin County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Baldwin County, Alabama.

Water grade

B

Water score

65.3

State rank

#45

of 67

Health violations

10

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

38.2%

89 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

144

55,050 recent measurements

Live streamflow

134%

STYX RIVER NEAR ELSANOR, AL.

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Baldwin County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 65.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

10

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

38% impaired

89 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

134% of mean

STYX RIVER NEAR ELSANOR, AL.

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

144

55,050 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

B

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

65.3/100

Health violations

10

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

3.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Baldwin County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Baldwin County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 65.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 10 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

Watershed Conditions

EPA ATTAINS

Under the Clean Water Act §303(d), EPA ATTAINS tracks whether waterways meet quality standards for drinking, recreation, and aquatic life (reporting cycle: 2022). A substantial 38.2% of assessed waterways are impaired (34 of 89 water bodies) across Baldwin County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are mercury and enterococcus. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T14:00:00.000-05:00) puts STYX RIVER at 580.0 cfs — flowing above its historical average at 134% of mean. Streamflow is a leading indicator of drought stress, sediment load, and dilution capacity: low flows concentrate pollutants and warm water temperatures, stressing aquatic life and, in surface-water-dependent systems, the source water quality for treatment plants.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Baldwin County has extensive coverage with 144 active monitoring sites with 55,050 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and inorganics, minor, metals. More monitoring sites generally indicate greater scientific attention to local water conditions — and provide the baseline data that regulators use to set future impairment listings.

Editorial advisory

What the data suggests for Baldwin County

Water Verdict

Baldwin County, Alabama receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 65.3 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 89 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 38.2% listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act — a source-water measure that is tracked independently of tap-water compliance. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was running above its historical mean at 134.2%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Baldwin County, Alabama show 10 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 3.3 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 55,050 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Baldwin County meets baseline safety standards, though the compliance record shows some violations worth watching. Baldwin County's drinking-water compliance score is 65.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Baldwin County is 3.3 per 100,000 people served. Running tap water for 30 seconds before drinking can reduce any localized lead exposure from household plumbing. Requesting your utility's most recent Consumer Confidence Report is the fastest way to identify which specific contaminants were flagged. Mercury is the leading impairment cause in Baldwin County's watershed. With 144 active water-quality monitoring sites in Baldwin County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the STYX RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Baldwin County has water quality close to the average county in Alabama. Its water score is within 3.5 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Alabama as a whole.

Advisory text summarizes county-level public records and is not a replacement for your utility's current Consumer Confidence Report or direct local notices.

Contaminants & Resources

Key issues flagged in Baldwin County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Mercury

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 2

    Enterococcus bacteria

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 3

    E. coli (bacteria)

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Baldwin County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Baldwin County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Baldwin County

Consumer Confidence Reports (AL)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Alabama

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

38.2%

34 of 89 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    MERCURY

  • 2

    ENTEROCOCCUS

  • 3

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Impairment is determined under the Clean Water Act §303(d): a water body is impaired when it fails to meet state-defined quality standards for designated uses (drinking, recreation, aquatic life). Assessment coverage varies by state; counties without assessed water bodies are not shown.

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

144

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

55K

55,050 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Microbiological

Categories measured most frequently

Data from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), aggregating monitoring records from federal, state, and tribal sources. Each measurement represents a single sample analyzed for a specific characteristic (e.g., E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

580cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

134%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

STYX RIVER NEAR ELSANOR, AL.

USGS site
02377570
Drainage area
192 sq mi
Long-term mean
432 cfs

One representative streamgage (the one with the largest drainage area in the county). Many counties have multiple gauges; this view summarizes the primary one. The long-term mean is the full-record annual average; the percent-of-typical value compares the latest reading against that average.

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Water Cost Estimate

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Annual Total

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Monthly

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Water Bill

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Filter Cost

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Safety Grade for Baldwin County:C — Moderate

Some violations or watershed impairment detected.

Estimates use the national average residential water rate ($0.0068/gal, EPA/AWWA 2023) and EPA WaterSense per-person consumption baseline (75 gal/person/day). Actual bills vary by utility, usage tier, and local infrastructure fees. For informational purposes only.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Baldwin County, Alabama?
Baldwin County, Alabama has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 65.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 10 health-based drinking water violations over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Baldwin County?
Baldwin County has 10 health-based drinking water violations recorded by the EPA over the past 5 years. Health-based violations indicate instances where contaminant levels exceeded EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). Violations may have been resolved — check with your local water utility for current status.
How healthy are the watersheds in Baldwin County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 38.2% of Baldwin County's 89 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (34 impaired). The top reported causes are MERCURY, ENTEROCOCCUS, ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI). Impairment means the water body fails to meet state quality standards for at least one designated use — drinking water source, recreation, aquatic life, or fish consumption. Note: watershed impairment doesn't always translate to tap-water issues; treatment plants can remove most regulated contaminants.
How much water-quality monitoring happens in Baldwin County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 55,050 measurements from 144 monitoring sites in Baldwin County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Microbiological. Each measurement is a single sample analyzed for one characteristic (E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, etc.). High monitoring density means more scientific evidence behind any reported signal — it does not by itself indicate water quality.
What's happening with rivers in Baldwin County right now?
Baldwin County's primary USGS streamgage on the STYX RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 580 cubic feet per second — 134% of the long-term mean of 432.05 cfs. This is well above typical — often a signal of recent precipitation or storm runoff. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Baldwin County water compare to the Alabama average?
Baldwin County's SDWIS water quality score of 65.3/100 is lower than the Alabama state average of 68.8. The average water quality grade across Alabama is C, based on data from 67 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Baldwin County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Baldwin County has a water quality grade of B (65.3/100). This indicates good to excellent water quality with strong SDWIS compliance. The grade speaks to the public water system, not the watershed — for watershed-level concerns, see the Watershed Health zone. For the most up-to-date information, contact your local water utility or review your Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).
Why does Baldwin County have so many water violations?
Baldwin County has 10 health-based drinking water violations on record from the EPA SDWIS database. A higher violation count can result from aging infrastructure, underfunded water utilities, agricultural runoff contamination, or industrial pollution. Counties with more water systems may also see more violations simply due to scale. Residents concerned about water quality should consider independent water testing and home filtration systems.
How does Baldwin County rank for water quality in Alabama?
Baldwin County ranks #45 out of 67 counties in Alabama by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 65.3/100, it falls in the middle third of counties statewide. The ranking reflects EPA SDWIS compliance only — not watershed impairment, monitoring density, or streamflow, which are tracked separately on this page.

Counties with Similar Water Quality

Tallapoosa County

Alabama

B

65.8

Water score

Mobile County

Alabama

B

63.8

Water score

Etowah County

Alabama

B

67.1

Water score

Data Sources

Drinking-water compliance data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) via the ECHO enforcement database. Scores reflect compliance history and health-based violation counts.

Watershed health and impaired-waterway data from the EPA ATTAINS Clean Water Act §303(d) assessments, state-reported and EPA-finalized.

Water-quality monitoring counts from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), federated USGS, EPA, and state agency sampling records over a rolling 5-year window.

Live streamflow from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), continuous discharge measurements from the largest-drainage gauge in each county, compared against the full-record long-term annual mean.

Disclaimer: This data is informational only. It is not health, legal, or professional advice. For concerns about your specific water supply, contact your local water utility.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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