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County water report

Pitkin County Water Report

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

Water grade

D

Water score

49.7

State rank

#24

of 64

Health violations

7

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

31.5%

111 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

77

22,106 recent measurements

Live streamflow

108%

ROARING FORK RIVER BLW MAROON CREEK NR ASPEN, CO

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Pitkin County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

D

Score: 49.7 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

7

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

32% impaired

111 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

108% of mean

ROARING FORK RIVER BLW MAROON CREEK NR ASPEN, CO

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

77

22,106 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

D

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

49.7/100

Health violations

7

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

17.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Pitkin County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Pitkin County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 49.7 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 7 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 31.5% of assessed waterways are impaired (35 of 111 water bodies) across Pitkin County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are arsenic and iron total recoverable. 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 2026-05-14T13:00:00.000-06:00) puts ROARING FORK RIVER BLW MAROON CREEK at 304.0 cfs — near its historical average at 108% 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. Pitkin County has extensive coverage with 77 active monitoring sites with 22,106 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include inorganics, minor, metals and physical. 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 Pitkin County

Water Verdict

Pitkin County, Colorado receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 49.7 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 111 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 31.5% 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 tracking near its historical mean (108.4%).

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Pitkin County, Colorado show 7 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 17.0 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: 22,106 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Pitkin County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Pitkin County's drinking-water compliance score is 49.7 out of 100. The violation rate for Pitkin County is 17.0 per 100,000 people served. Residents are encouraged to use an NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter for drinking and cooking water until the underlying violations are resolved. Running tap water for 30 seconds before use and avoiding older lead-pipe connections can also reduce exposure risk. The current Consumer Confidence Report from your utility will specify the contaminants of concern. Arsenic is the leading impairment cause in Pitkin County's watershed. With 77 active water-quality monitoring sites in Pitkin County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the ROARING FORK RIVER BLW MAROON CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Pitkin County has better water quality than the average county in Colorado. Its water score is 11 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 Pitkin County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Arsenic

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

  • 2

    Iron Total Recoverable

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

  • 3

    Elevated temperature

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Pitkin County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Pitkin County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Pitkin County

Consumer Confidence Reports (CO)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Colorado

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

31.5%

35 of 111 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ARSENIC

  • 2

    IRON TOTAL RECOVERABLE

  • 3

    TEMPERATURE

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

77

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

22K

22,106 total readings

Most Measured

  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Major, 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

304cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

108%

Near typical

Primary Streamgage

ROARING FORK RIVER BLW MAROON CREEK NR ASPEN, CO

USGS site
09076300
Drainage area
289 sq mi
Long-term mean
281 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 Pitkin 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 Pitkin County, Colorado?
Pitkin County, Colorado has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 49.7/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 7 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 Pitkin County?
Pitkin County has 7 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 Pitkin County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 31.5% of Pitkin County's 111 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (35 impaired). The top reported causes are ARSENIC, IRON TOTAL RECOVERABLE, TEMPERATURE. 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 Pitkin County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 22,106 measurements from 77 monitoring sites in Pitkin County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Physical, Inorganics, Major, 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 Pitkin County right now?
Pitkin County's primary USGS streamgage on the ROARING FORK RIVER BLW MAROON CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 304 cubic feet per second — 108% of the long-term mean of 280.57 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Pitkin County water compare to the Colorado average?
Pitkin County's SDWIS water quality score of 49.7/100 is higher 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 Pitkin County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Pitkin County has a water quality grade of D (49.7/100). 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 Pitkin County have so many water violations?
Pitkin County has 7 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 Pitkin County rank for water quality in Colorado?
Pitkin County ranks #24 out of 64 counties in Colorado by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 49.7/100, 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

Eagle County

Colorado

D

49.9

Water score

El Paso County

Colorado

C

51.3

Water score

Moffat County

Colorado

D

47.7

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

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