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County water report

Pinellas County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Pinellas County, Florida.

Water grade

B

Water score

68.2

State rank

#25

of 66

Health violations

21

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

55.9%

775 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

2,464

152,619 recent measurements

Live streamflow

0%

LAKE TARPON CANAL AT S-551, NEAR OLDSMAR FL

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Pinellas County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 68.2 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

21

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

56% impaired

775 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

0% of mean

LAKE TARPON CANAL AT S-551, NEAR OLDSMAR FL

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

2,464

152,619 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

B

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

68.2/100

Health violations

21

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

1.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Pinellas County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Pinellas County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 68.2 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 21 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 55.9% of assessed waterways are impaired (433 of 775 water bodies) across Pinellas County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are mercury in fish tissue and dissolved oxygen. 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 LAKE TARPON CANAL at 0.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 0% 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. Pinellas County has extensive coverage with 2,464 active monitoring sites with 152,619 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 Pinellas County

Water Verdict

Pinellas County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 68.2 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Pinellas County has recorded 21 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 1.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is relatively low compared to many U.S. counties.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Pinellas County meets baseline safety standards, though the compliance record shows some violations worth watching. Pinellas County's drinking-water compliance score is 68.2 out of 100. The violation rate for Pinellas County is 1.8 per 100,000 people served. Running tap water for 30 seconds before drinking can reduce any localized lead exposure from household plumbing. Requesting your utility's most recent Consumer Confidence Report is the fastest way to identify which specific contaminants were flagged. Mercury in Fish Tissue is the leading impairment cause in Pinellas County's watershed. With 2,464 active water-quality monitoring sites in Pinellas County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the LAKE TARPON CANAL gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Pinellas County has better water quality than the average county in Florida. Its water score is 12.2 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 Pinellas County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Mercury (fish tissue)

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

  • 2

    Low dissolved oxygen

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

  • 3

    Chlorophyll-a (algae indicator)

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Pinellas County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Pinellas County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Pinellas County

Consumer Confidence Reports (FL)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Florida

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

55.9%

433 of 775 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    MERCURY IN FISH TISSUE

  • 2

    DISSOLVED OXYGEN

  • 3

    CHLOROPHYLL-A

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

2,464

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

153K

152,619 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Biological, Algae, Phytoplankton

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

0.00cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

0%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

LAKE TARPON CANAL AT S-551, NEAR OLDSMAR FL

USGS site
02307498
Drainage area
65 sq mi
Long-term mean
56.4 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.

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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 Pinellas 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 Pinellas County, Florida?
Pinellas County, Florida has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 68.2/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 21 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 Pinellas County?
Pinellas County has 21 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 Pinellas County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 55.9% of Pinellas County's 775 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (433 impaired). The top reported causes are MERCURY IN FISH TISSUE, DISSOLVED OXYGEN, CHLOROPHYLL-A. 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 Pinellas County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 152,619 measurements from 2,464 monitoring sites in Pinellas County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Biological, Algae, Phytoplankton. 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 Pinellas County right now?
Pinellas County's primary USGS streamgage on the LAKE TARPON CANAL has a pipeline snapshot of 0 cubic feet per second — 0% of the long-term mean of 56.41 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 Pinellas County water compare to the Florida average?
Pinellas County's SDWIS water quality score of 68.2/100 is higher than the Florida state average of 56.0. The average water quality grade across Florida is D, based on data from 66 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Pinellas County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Pinellas County has a water quality grade of B (68.2/100). This indicates good to excellent water quality with strong SDWIS compliance. 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 Pinellas County have so many water violations?
Pinellas County has 21 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 Pinellas County rank for water quality in Florida?
Pinellas County ranks #25 out of 66 counties in Florida by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 68.2/100, 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

Hillsborough County

Florida

B

68.4

Water score

Orange County

Florida

B

68.8

Water score

Pasco County

Florida

B

67.3

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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