waterbycounty
Federal water data

County water report

Otero County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Otero County, Colorado.

Water grade

F

Water score

0.5

State rank

#64

of 64

Health violations

853

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

28.8%

111 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

18

3,350 recent measurements

Live streamflow

1327%

ARKANSAS RIVER AT LA JUNTA, CO

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Otero County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 0.5 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

853

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

29% impaired

111 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

1327% of mean

ARKANSAS RIVER AT LA JUNTA, CO

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

18

3,350 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.

0.5/100

Health violations

853

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

4413.1

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Otero County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Otero County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 0.5 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 853 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 28.8% of assessed waterways carry an impairment designation (32 of 111 water bodies) across Otero County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are arsenic and selenium. 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 1999-08-05T23:45:00.000-06:00) puts ARKANSAS RIVER at 3.6k cfs — running significantly above its long-term average at 1327% 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. Otero County has moderate coverage with 18 active monitoring sites with 3,350 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 Otero County

Water Verdict

Otero County, Colorado receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 0.5 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 111 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 28.8% 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 1327.1%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Otero County, Colorado show 853 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 4413.1 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 3,350 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Otero County has a Grade F compliance record with 853 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Otero County's drinking-water compliance score is 0.5 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 Colorado Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. Arsenic is the leading impairment cause in Otero County's watershed. With 18 active water-quality monitoring sites in Otero County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the ARKANSAS RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Otero County has poorer water quality than the average county in Colorado. Its water score is 38.2 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 Otero County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Arsenic

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

  • 2

    Selenium

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

  • 3

    Cadmium

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Otero County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Otero County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Otero County

Consumer Confidence Reports (CO)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Colorado

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

28.8%

32 of 111 assessed

Some impairment

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ARSENIC

  • 2

    SELENIUM

  • 3

    CADMIUM

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

18

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

3.4K

3,350 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Inorganics, Major, Non-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

3,560cfs

Aug 6, 5:45 AM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

1327%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

ARKANSAS RIVER AT LA JUNTA, CO

USGS site
07123000
Drainage area
12,210 sq mi
Long-term mean
268 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 Otero 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.

Try the full calculator →

Improve your water quality at home

Berkey filters remove 99.9%+ of contaminants from tap water.

Shop Berkey →

Sponsored

Test your tap water

Tap Score provides professional mail-in water testing.

Get Tested →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Otero County, Colorado?
Otero County, Colorado has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 0.5/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 853 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 Otero County?
Otero County has 853 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 Otero County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 28.8% of Otero County's 111 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (32 impaired). The top reported causes are ARSENIC, SELENIUM, CADMIUM. 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 Otero County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 3,350 measurements from 18 monitoring sites in Otero County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Inorganics, Major, Non-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 Otero County right now?
Otero County's primary USGS streamgage on the ARKANSAS RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 3,560 cubic feet per second — 1327% of the long-term mean of 268.25 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 Otero County water compare to the Colorado average?
Otero County's SDWIS water quality score of 0.5/100 is lower than the Colorado state average of 38.7. The average water quality grade across Colorado is F, based on data from 64 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Otero County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Otero County has a water quality grade of F (0.5/100). 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 Otero County have so many water violations?
Otero County has 853 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 Otero County rank for water quality in Colorado?
Otero County ranks #64 out of 64 counties in Colorado by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 0.5/100, 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

Prowers County

Colorado

F

0.8

Water score

Baca County

Colorado

F

1.6

Water score

Bent County

Colorado

F

2.7

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

Explore more data for Otero County

Property TaxCost of LivingCrime RateIncomeHealthSchoolsDisaster RiskWeatherCounty Score