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Federal water data

County water report

Sitka City and Borough Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

33.3

State rank

#6

of 22

Health violations

5

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

50.0%

2 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

N/A

EPA Water Quality Portal

Live streamflow

25%

SAWMILL C NR SITKA AK

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Sitka City and Borough

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 33.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

50% impaired

2 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

25% of mean

SAWMILL C NR SITKA AK

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

N/A

Rolling 5-year window

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.

33.3/100

Health violations

5

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

52.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Sitka City and Borough’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Sitka City and Borough's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 33.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 5 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 50.0% of assessed waterways are impaired (1 of 2 water bodies) across Sitka City and Borough's watersheds. The leading impairment cause is residues. 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 SAWMILL C at 84.7 cfs — well below its long-term average at 25% 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.

Editorial advisory

What the data suggests for Sitka City and Borough

Water Verdict

Sitka City and Borough receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 33.3 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.

Violation Context

Sitka City and Borough has recorded 5 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 52.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Sitka City and Borough is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Sitka City and Borough's drinking-water compliance score is 33.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Sitka City and Borough is 52.4 per 100,000 people served. An NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter is recommended for drinking and cooking water. Check the Consumer Confidence Report from your utility to identify the specific contaminants and required corrective actions — utilities are legally required to notify customers of violations. Residues is the leading impairment cause in Sitka City and Borough's watershed. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the SAWMILL C gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Sitka City and Borough has better water quality than the average county in Alaska. Its water score is 13.5 points higher than the state average, indicating stronger water system performance relative to neighboring counties.

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 Sitka City and Borough's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Residues

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Sitka City and Borough

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Sitka City and Borough

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Sitka City and Borough

Consumer Confidence Reports (AK)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Alaska

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

50.0%

1 of 2 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    RESIDUES

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.

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

84.7cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

25%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

SAWMILL C NR SITKA AK

USGS site
15088000
Drainage area
38.7 sq mi
Long-term mean
338 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

3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Sitka City and Borough:F — Failing

High violation count or severe watershed conditions.

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 Sitka City and Borough, Alaska?
Sitka City and Borough, Alaska has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 33.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 5 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 Sitka City and Borough?
Sitka City and Borough has 5 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 Sitka City and Borough?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 50.0% of Sitka City and Borough's 2 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (1 impaired). The top reported causes are RESIDUES. 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.
What's happening with rivers in Sitka City and Borough right now?
Sitka City and Borough's primary USGS streamgage on the SAWMILL C has a pipeline snapshot of 84.7 cubic feet per second — 25% of the long-term mean of 337.53 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 Sitka City and Borough water compare to the Alaska average?
Sitka City and Borough's SDWIS water quality score of 33.3/100 is higher 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 Sitka City and Borough?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Sitka City and Borough has a water quality grade of F (33.3/100). 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).
Does Sitka City and Borough have clean drinking water?
Sitka City and Borough has 5 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 33.3/100 and grade F, 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 Sitka City and Borough rank for water quality in Alaska?
Sitka City and Borough ranks #6 out of 22 counties in Alaska by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 33.3/100, 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

Fairbanks North Star Borough

Alaska

D

47.8

Water score

Aleutians West Census Area

Alaska

F

16.8

Water score

Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Alaska

F

15.3

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.

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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