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County water report

Macon County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Macon County, Georgia.

Water grade

F

Water score

21.5

State rank

#131

of 159

Health violations

12

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

44.8%

29 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

11

5,588 recent measurements

Live streamflow

50%

FLINT RIVER AT GA 26, NEAR MONTEZUMA, GA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Macon County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 21.5 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

12

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

45% impaired

29 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

50% of mean

FLINT RIVER AT GA 26, NEAR MONTEZUMA, GA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

11

5,588 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.

21.5/100

Health violations

12

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

116.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Macon County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Macon County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 21.5 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 12 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 44.8% of assessed waterways are impaired (13 of 29 water bodies) across Macon County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are fecal coliform and fish bioassessments. 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 2026-05-14T14:15:00.000-04:00) puts FLINT RIVER at 1.7k cfs — well below its long-term average at 50% 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. Macon County has moderate coverage with 11 active monitoring sites with 5,588 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 Macon County

Water Verdict

Macon County, Georgia receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 21.5 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 29 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 44.8% 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 below its historical mean at 50.4% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Macon County, Georgia show 12 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 116.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 5,588 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Macon County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Macon County's drinking-water compliance score is 21.5 out of 100. 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. Fecal Coliform is the leading impairment cause in Macon County's watershed. With 11 active water-quality monitoring sites in Macon County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the FLINT RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Macon County has poorer water quality than the average county in Georgia. Its water score is 42.9 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 Macon County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Fecal coliform bacteria

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

  • 2

    Fish Bioassessments

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

  • 3

    pH imbalance

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Macon County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Macon County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Macon County

Consumer Confidence Reports (GA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Georgia

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

44.8%

13 of 29 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    FECAL COLIFORM

  • 2

    FISH BIOASSESSMENTS

  • 3

    PH

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

11

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

5.6K

5,588 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

1,720cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

50%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

FLINT RIVER AT GA 26, NEAR MONTEZUMA, GA

USGS site
02349605
Drainage area
2,920 sq mi
Long-term mean
3,415 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

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Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

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Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Macon 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 Macon County, Georgia?
Macon County, Georgia has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 21.5/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 12 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 Macon County?
Macon County has 12 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 Macon County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 44.8% of Macon County's 29 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (13 impaired). The top reported causes are FECAL COLIFORM, FISH BIOASSESSMENTS, PH. 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 Macon County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 5,588 measurements from 11 monitoring sites in Macon 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 Macon County right now?
Macon County's primary USGS streamgage on the FLINT RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 1,720 cubic feet per second — 50% of the long-term mean of 3,415.04 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 Macon County water compare to the Georgia average?
Macon County's SDWIS water quality score of 21.5/100 is lower than the Georgia state average of 64.4. The average water quality grade across Georgia is C, based on data from 159 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Macon County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Macon County has a water quality grade of F (21.5/100). 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 Macon County have so many water violations?
Macon County has 12 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 Macon County rank for water quality in Georgia?
Macon County ranks #131 out of 159 counties in Georgia by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 21.5/100, 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

Morgan County

Georgia

F

21.4

Water score

Franklin County

Georgia

F

20.7

Water score

Mitchell County

Georgia

F

22.7

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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