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Federal water data

County water report

Tulare County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Tulare County, California.

Water grade

F

Water score

23.4

State rank

#52

of 58

Health violations

400

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

16.4%

122 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

39

9,932 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

KERN R NR KERNVILLE (RIVER ONLY) CA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Tulare County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 23.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

400

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

16% impaired

122 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

KERN R NR KERNVILLE (RIVER ONLY) CA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

39

9,932 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.

23.4/100

Health violations

400

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

98.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Tulare County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Tulare County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 23.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 400 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 notable 16.4% of assessed waterways carry an impairment designation (20 of 122 water bodies) across Tulare County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are toxicity and alkalinity. 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. Tulare County has moderate coverage with 39 active monitoring sites with 9,932 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include organics, pesticide and organics, other. 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 Tulare County

Water Verdict

Tulare County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 23.4 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

Tulare County has recorded 400 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 98.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Tulare County has a Grade F compliance record with 400 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Tulare County's drinking-water compliance score is 23.4 out of 100. The violation rate for Tulare County is 98.4 per 100,000 people served. 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 California Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. Toxicity is the leading impairment cause in Tulare County's watershed. With 39 active water-quality monitoring sites in Tulare County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the KERN R gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Tulare County has poorer water quality than the average county in California. Its water score is 21.2 points lower than the state average, suggesting more challenges with contamination control or infrastructure than 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 Tulare County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Toxicity

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

  • 2

    Alkalinity

    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 Tulare County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Tulare County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Tulare County

Consumer Confidence Reports (CA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in California

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

16.4%

20 of 122 assessed

Some impairment

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    TOXICITY

  • 2

    ALKALINITY

  • 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

39

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

9.9K

9,932 total readings

Most Measured

  • Organics, Pesticide
  • Organics, Other
  • Physical

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).

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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 Tulare 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 Tulare County, California?
Tulare County, California has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 23.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 400 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 Tulare County?
Tulare County has 400 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 Tulare County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 16.4% of Tulare County's 122 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (20 impaired). The top reported causes are TOXICITY, ALKALINITY, 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 Tulare County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 9,932 measurements from 39 monitoring sites in Tulare County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Organics, Pesticide, Organics, Other, Physical. 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 Tulare County water compare to the California average?
Tulare County's SDWIS water quality score of 23.4/100 is lower than the California state average of 44.6. The average water quality grade across California is D, based on data from 58 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Tulare County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Tulare County has a water quality grade of F (23.4/100). 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 Tulare County have so many water violations?
Tulare County has 400 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 Tulare County rank for water quality in California?
Tulare County ranks #52 out of 58 counties in California by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 23.4/100, it falls in the bottom 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

Mariposa County

California

F

25.0

Water score

San Luis Obispo County

California

F

21.3

Water score

Sierra County

California

F

26.1

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.

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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