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Federal water data

County water report

Houston County Water Report

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

Water grade

A

Water score

70.4

State rank

#32

of 67

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

31.8%

44 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

21

15,989 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

Primary USGS station not mapped

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Houston County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

A

Score: 70.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

32% impaired

44 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

Primary USGS gauge not mapped

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

21

15,989 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

A

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

70.4/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

0.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Houston County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #1017 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSIThe Data Center Water Stress Index: 60% the county's water-system stress plus 40% how concentrated data centers already are, scored 0-100. Higher means data-center density and water pressure overlap more here.

42.2

0-100 index

Facility count

1

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+20.4

Compared with US county median

Named operators

AngelTrax Mobile Video Surveillance Solutions

Mapped facilities

  • AngelTrax Data Center

    Dothan · AngelTrax Mobile Video Surveillance Solutions

    OSM
See the Houston County data-center reportReview methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

Estimate daily water use for a hypothetical facility in Houston County.

1 MW1,000 MW
40%100%
799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 492.1% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

492.1% of county industrial baseline

Based on USGS 2020 water-use data and EPA-standard cooling intensity constants. Not a substitute for site-specific water rights analysis.

Editorial analysis

Understanding Houston County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Houston County earns an A grade for drinking water quality, scoring 70.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 1 health-based violation — a single incident worth monitoring.

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 31.8% of assessed waterways are impaired (14 of 44 water bodies) across Houston County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and mercury. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Houston County has moderate coverage with 21 active monitoring sites with 15,989 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 Houston County

Water Verdict

Houston County, Alabama receives a good water quality assessment with a grade of A and a score of 70.4 out of 100. While the water supply is generally safe, occasional monitoring gaps or minor contaminant detections may occur. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 44 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 31.8% listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act — a source-water measure that is tracked independently of tap-water compliance.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Houston County, Alabama show 1 health-based violation, meaning a water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 0.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is relatively low compared to many U.S. counties. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 15,989 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 Houston County earns a Grade A overall with a small number of isolated health violations in the recent record. Houston County's drinking-water compliance score is 70.4 out of 100. The violation rate for Houston County is 0.8 per 100,000 people served. These violations were likely resolved quickly; Grade A reflects a strong multi-year compliance trend. Reviewing the most recent Consumer Confidence Report will show exactly which systems were affected and what corrective action was taken. With 21 active water-quality monitoring sites in Houston County, data coverage is strong. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Houston County's watershed.

Regional Context

Houston County has water quality close to the average county in Alabama. Its water score is within 1.6 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 Houston County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 2

    Mercury

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

  • 3

    Biochemical Oxygen Demand (Bod)

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Houston County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Houston County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Houston County

Consumer Confidence Reports (AL)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Alabama

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

31.8%

14 of 44 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    MERCURY

  • 3

    BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)

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

21

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

16K

15,989 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Nutrient

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).

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 Houston 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 Houston County, Alabama?
Houston County, Alabama has a drinking-water quality grade of A with a score of 70.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 1 health-based drinking water violation over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Houston County?
Houston County has 1 health-based drinking water violation 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 Houston County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 31.8% of Houston County's 44 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (14 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), MERCURY, BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). 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 Houston County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 15,989 measurements from 21 monitoring sites in Houston County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Nutrient. 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.
How does Houston County water compare to the Alabama average?
Houston County's SDWIS water quality score of 70.4/100 is higher 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 Houston County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Houston County has a water quality grade of A (70.4/100). 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 Houston County have clean drinking water?
Houston County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 70.4/100 and grade A, 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 Houston County rank for water quality in Alabama?
Houston County ranks #32 out of 67 counties in Alabama by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 70.4/100, 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

Lauderdale County

Alabama

A

70.4

Water score

Elmore County

Alabama

A

70.1

Water score

Lee County

Alabama

A

70.8

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.

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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