waterbycounty
Federal water data

County water report

Kent County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Kent County, Delaware.

Water grade

C

Water score

56.8

State rank

#2

of 3

Health violations

13

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

60.2%

399 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

118

55,793 recent measurements

Live streamflow

35%

MARSHYHOPE CREEK NEAR ADAMSVILLE, DE

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Kent County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 56.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

13

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

60% impaired

399 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

35% of mean

MARSHYHOPE CREEK NEAR ADAMSVILLE, DE

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

118

55,793 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

C

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

56.8/100

Health violations

13

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

9.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Kent County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Kent County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 56.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 13 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 large majority — 60.2% — of assessed waterways are impaired (240 of 399 water bodies) across Kent County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are habitat assessment and nutrients. 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 2026-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00) puts MARSHYHOPE CREEK at 19.8 cfs — well below its long-term average at 35% 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.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Kent County has extensive coverage with 118 active monitoring sites with 55,793 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 Kent County

Water Verdict

Kent County, Delaware receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 56.8 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 399 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 60.2% 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 below its historical mean at 35.0% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Kent County, Delaware show 13 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 9.0 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: 55,793 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Kent County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Kent County's drinking-water compliance score is 56.8 out of 100. The violation rate for Kent County is 9.0 per 100,000 people served. Residents who are immunocompromised, pregnant, or have young children may benefit from using an NSF 53-certified filter. Contacting your local utility for the current Consumer Confidence Report will confirm which specific violations were recorded and whether they have been resolved. Habitat Assessment is the leading impairment cause in Kent County's watershed. With 118 active water-quality monitoring sites in Kent County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the MARSHYHOPE CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Kent County has poorer water quality than the average county in Delaware. Its water score is 9.3 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 Kent County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Habitat Assessment

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

  • 2

    Nutrient pollution

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

  • 3

    Enterococcus bacteria

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Kent County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Kent County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Kent County

Consumer Confidence Reports (DE)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Delaware

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

60.2%

240 of 399 assessed

High concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    HABITAT ASSESSMENT

  • 2

    NUTRIENTS

  • 3

    ENTEROCOCCUS

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

118

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

56K

55,793 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • 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

19.8cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

35%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

MARSHYHOPE CREEK NEAR ADAMSVILLE, DE

USGS site
01488500
Drainage area
46.8 sq mi
Long-term mean
56.5 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 Kent County:D — Poor

Elevated violations or significant watershed impairment.

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 Kent County, Delaware?
Kent County, Delaware has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 56.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 13 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 Kent County?
Kent County has 13 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 Kent County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 60.2% of Kent County's 399 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (240 impaired). The top reported causes are HABITAT ASSESSMENT, NUTRIENTS, ENTEROCOCCUS. 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 Kent County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 55,793 measurements from 118 monitoring sites in Kent County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, 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 Kent County right now?
Kent County's primary USGS streamgage on the MARSHYHOPE CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 19.8 cubic feet per second — 35% of the long-term mean of 56.52 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 Kent County water compare to the Delaware average?
Kent County's SDWIS water quality score of 56.8/100 is lower than the Delaware state average of 66.1. The average water quality grade across Delaware is C, based on data from 3 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Kent County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Kent County has a water quality grade of C (56.8/100). This indicates moderate compliance. Some violations have been recorded but overall standards are maintained. 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 Kent County have so many water violations?
Kent County has 13 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 Kent County rank for water quality in Delaware?
Kent County ranks #2 out of 3 counties in Delaware by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 56.8/100, 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

Sussex County

Delaware

C

55.6

Water score

New Castle County

Delaware

A

86.0

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 Kent County

Property TaxCost of LivingCrime RateIncomeHealthSchoolsDisaster RiskWeatherCounty Score