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County water report

Etowah County Water Report

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

Water grade

B

Water score

67.1

State rank

#42

of 67

Health violations

3

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

48.0%

25 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

17

9,741 recent measurements

Live streamflow

43%

BIG WILLS CREEK NEAR REECE CITY

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Etowah County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 67.1 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

3

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

48% impaired

25 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

43% of mean

BIG WILLS CREEK NEAR REECE CITY

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

17

9,741 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.

67.1/100

Health violations

3

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

2.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Etowah County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Etowah County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 67.1 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 3 health-based violations — a small cluster that warrants attention.

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 48.0% of assessed waterways are impaired (12 of 25 water bodies) across Etowah County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are phosphorus, total and biochemical oxygen demand (bod). 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 2026-05-14T13:45:00.000-05:00) puts BIG WILLS CREEK at 131.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 43% of mean — low-flow conditions worth noting for water-dependent ecosystems. 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. Etowah County has moderate coverage with 17 active monitoring sites with 9,741 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and nutrient. 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 Etowah County

Water Verdict

Etowah County, Alabama receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 67.1 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 25 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 48.0% 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 below its historical mean at 43.4% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Etowah County, Alabama show 3 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 2.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is relatively low compared to many U.S. counties. For independent context, 9,741 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Etowah County scores well above average for drinking-water safety. Etowah County's drinking-water compliance score is 67.1 out of 100. With 3 recorded health violations, the water supply is generally reliable. The violation rate for Etowah County is 2.4 per 100,000 people served. Households with infants, pregnant individuals, or immunocompromised members may want to use an NSF 53-certified pitcher filter as a low-cost precaution. Phosphorus, Total is the leading impairment cause in Etowah County's watershed. With 17 active water-quality monitoring sites in Etowah County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the BIG WILLS CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Etowah County has water quality close to the average county in Alabama. Its water score is within 1.7 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 Etowah County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Phosphorus (excess nutrients)

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

  • 2

    Biochemical Oxygen Demand (Bod)

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

  • 3

    pH imbalance

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Etowah County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Etowah County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Etowah County

Consumer Confidence Reports (AL)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Alabama

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

48.0%

12 of 25 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL

  • 2

    BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)

  • 3

    PH

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

17

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

9.7K

9,741 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals

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

131cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

43%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

BIG WILLS CREEK NEAR REECE CITY

USGS site
02401000
Drainage area
182 sq mi
Long-term mean
302 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.

Free tool

Estimate Your Water Costs

Water Cost Estimate

3

3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Etowah 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 Etowah County, Alabama?
Etowah County, Alabama has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 67.1/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 3 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 Etowah County?
Etowah County has 3 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 Etowah County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 48.0% of Etowah County's 25 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (12 impaired). The top reported causes are PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL, BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD), PH. 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 Etowah County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 9,741 measurements from 17 monitoring sites in Etowah County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Inorganics, Minor, Metals. 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 Etowah County right now?
Etowah County's primary USGS streamgage on the BIG WILLS CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 131 cubic feet per second — 43% of the long-term mean of 301.64 cfs. This is well below typical — often a signal of drought stress on source water. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Etowah County water compare to the Alabama average?
Etowah County's SDWIS water quality score of 67.1/100 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 Etowah County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Etowah County has a water quality grade of B (67.1/100). 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).
Does Etowah County have clean drinking water?
Etowah County has 3 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 67.1/100 and grade B, the county's drinking water has had some compliance issues but continues to be monitored. Note: drinking-water compliance speaks to the public water system, not necessarily to the watershed itself — check the Watershed Health zone for ATTAINS §303(d) data.
How does Etowah County rank for water quality in Alabama?
Etowah County ranks #42 out of 67 counties in Alabama by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 67.1/100, 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

Pike County

Alabama

B

67.1

Water score

Marshall County

Alabama

B

67.5

Water score

Tuscaloosa County

Alabama

B

67.5

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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