waterbycounty
Federal water data

County water report

Rio Grande County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

23.9

State rank

#41

of 64

Health violations

7

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

31.2%

276 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

17

5,805 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

Primary USGS station not mapped

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Rio Grande County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 23.9 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

7

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

31% impaired

276 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

Primary USGS gauge not mapped

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

17

5,805 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.

23.9/100

Health violations

7

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

95.5

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Rio Grande County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Rio Grande County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 23.9 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 31.2% of assessed waterways are impaired (86 of 276 water bodies) across Rio Grande County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are arsenic and zinc. 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. Rio Grande County has moderate coverage with 17 active monitoring sites with 5,805 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 Rio Grande County

Water Verdict

Rio Grande County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 23.9 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

Rio Grande County has recorded 7 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 95.5 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Rio Grande County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Rio Grande County's drinking-water compliance score is 23.9 out of 100. The violation rate for Rio Grande County is 95.5 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. Arsenic is the leading impairment cause in Rio Grande County's watershed. With 17 active water-quality monitoring sites in Rio Grande County, data coverage is strong.

Regional Context

Rio Grande County has poorer water quality than the average county in Colorado. Its water score is 14.8 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 Rio Grande County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Arsenic

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

  • 2

    Zinc

    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 Rio Grande County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Rio Grande County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Rio Grande County

Consumer Confidence Reports (CO)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Colorado

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

31.2%

86 of 276 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ARSENIC

  • 2

    ZINC

  • 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

17

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

5.8K

5,805 total readings

Most Measured

  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Physical
  • Nutrient

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).

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 Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County, Colorado?
Rio Grande County, Colorado has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 23.9/100, 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 Rio Grande County?
Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 31.2% of Rio Grande County's 276 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (86 impaired). The top reported causes are ARSENIC, ZINC, 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 Rio Grande County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 5,805 measurements from 17 monitoring sites in Rio Grande County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Physical, Nutrient. 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 Rio Grande County water compare to the Colorado average?
Rio Grande County's SDWIS water quality score of 23.9/100 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 Rio Grande County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Rio Grande County has a water quality grade of F (23.9/100). 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 Rio Grande County have so many water violations?
Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County rank for water quality in Colorado?
Rio Grande County ranks #41 out of 64 counties in Colorado by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 23.9/100, 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

Pueblo County

Colorado

F

22.2

Water score

Montrose County

Colorado

F

25.8

Water score

Gunnison County

Colorado

F

26.5

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

Explore more data for Rio Grande County

Property TaxCost of LivingCrime RateIncomeHealthSchoolsDisaster RiskWeatherCounty Score