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Matanuska-Susitna Borough Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska.

Water grade

F

Water score

15.3

State rank

#8

of 22

Health violations

86

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

2.3%

44 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

43

25,388 recent measurements

Live streamflow

192%

SUSITNA R AT GOLD CREEK AK

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Matanuska-Susitna Borough

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 15.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

86

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

2% impaired

44 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

192% of mean

SUSITNA R AT GOLD CREEK AK

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

43

25,388 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

F

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

15.3/100

Health violations

86

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

193.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Matanuska-Susitna Borough's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 15.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 86 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 small share — 2.3% — of assessed waterways are impaired (1 of 44 water bodies) across Matanuska-Susitna Borough's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are lead in sediment and contaminated sediments (pahs). 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 2026-05-14T10:30:00.000-08:00) puts SUSITNA R at 19.1k cfs — running significantly above its long-term average at 192% of mean flow. 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. Matanuska-Susitna Borough has moderate coverage with 43 active monitoring sites with 25,388 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Water Verdict

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 15.3 out of 100. The water supply has documented quality issues. Residents are strongly encouraged to use filtered or bottled water for drinking and to stay informed about utility improvement plans. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 44 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 2.3% 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 192.4%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska show 86 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 193.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 25,388 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Matanuska-Susitna Borough has a Grade F compliance record with 86 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Matanuska-Susitna Borough's drinking-water compliance score is 15.3 out of 100. Residents are strongly advised to use a certified NSF 58 reverse-osmosis filter or bottled water for all drinking and cooking until violations are corrected. Contacting the Alaska Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. Lead in Sediment is the leading impairment cause in Matanuska-Susitna Borough's watershed. With 43 active water-quality monitoring sites in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the SUSITNA R gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Matanuska-Susitna Borough has water quality close to the average county in Alaska. Its water score is within 4.5 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Alaska 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Lead in Sediment

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

  • 2

    Contaminated Sediments (Pahs)

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

  • 3

    Zinc in Sediment

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Matanuska-Susitna Borough

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Matanuska-Susitna Borough

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Consumer Confidence Reports (AK)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Alaska

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

2.3%

1 of 44 assessed

Mostly healthy

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    LEAD IN SEDIMENT

  • 2

    CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS (PAHS)

  • 3

    ZINC IN SEDIMENT

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

43

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

25K

25,388 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

19.1Kcfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

192%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

SUSITNA R AT GOLD CREEK AK

USGS site
15292000
Drainage area
6,130 sq mi
Long-term mean
9,930 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

3

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Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Matanuska-Susitna Borough: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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 15.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 86 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough has 86 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 2.3% of Matanuska-Susitna Borough's 44 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (1 impaired). The top reported causes are LEAD IN SEDIMENT, CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS (PAHS), ZINC IN SEDIMENT. 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 25,388 measurements from 43 monitoring sites in Matanuska-Susitna Borough 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough right now?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough's primary USGS streamgage on the SUSITNA R has a pipeline snapshot of 19,100 cubic feet per second — 192% of the long-term mean of 9,929.63 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough water compare to the Alaska average?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough's SDWIS water quality score of 15.3/100 is lower than the Alaska state average of 19.8. The average water quality grade across Alaska is F, based on data from 22 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Matanuska-Susitna Borough?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Matanuska-Susitna Borough has a water quality grade of F (15.3/100). This indicates below-average compliance with significant violations. Residents may want to consider home water filtration or independent testing. 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough have so many water violations?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough has 86 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough rank for water quality in Alaska?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough ranks #8 out of 22 counties in Alaska by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 15.3/100, it falls in the top 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

Aleutians West Census Area

Alaska

F

16.8

Water score

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area

Alaska

F

12.0

Water score

Kenai Peninsula Borough

Alaska

F

11.6

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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