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County water report

Putnam County Water Report

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

Water grade

B

Water score

63.4

State rank

#101

of 159

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

41.9%

31 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

12

15,167 recent measurements

Live streamflow

19%

LITTLE RIVER NEAR EATONTON, GA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Putnam County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 63.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

42% impaired

31 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

19% of mean

LITTLE RIVER NEAR EATONTON, GA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

12

15,167 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.

63.4/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

4.5

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Putnam County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Putnam County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 63.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 1 health-based violation — a single incident worth monitoring.

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 41.9% of assessed waterways are impaired (13 of 31 water bodies) across Putnam County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are fecal coliform and ph. 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 2026-05-14T14:30:00.000-04:00) puts LITTLE RIVER at 41.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 19% 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. Putnam County has moderate coverage with 12 active monitoring sites with 15,167 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 Putnam County

Water Verdict

Putnam County, Georgia receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 63.4 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 31 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 41.9% 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 18.5% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Putnam County, Georgia show 1 health-based violation, meaning a water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 4.5 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 15,167 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 Putnam County scores well above average for drinking-water safety. Putnam County's drinking-water compliance score is 63.4 out of 100. With 1 recorded health violation, the water supply is generally reliable. The violation rate for Putnam County is 4.5 per 100,000 people served. Households with infants, pregnant individuals, or immunocompromised members may want to use an NSF 53-certified pitcher filter as a low-cost precaution. Fecal Coliform is the leading impairment cause in Putnam County's watershed. With 12 active water-quality monitoring sites in Putnam County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the LITTLE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Putnam County has water quality close to the average county in Georgia. Its water score is within 1 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Georgia as a whole.

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 Putnam County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Fecal coliform bacteria

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

  • 2

    pH imbalance

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

  • 3

    Fish Bioassessments

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Putnam County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Putnam County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Putnam County

Consumer Confidence Reports (GA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Georgia

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

41.9%

13 of 31 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    FECAL COLIFORM

  • 2

    PH

  • 3

    FISH BIOASSESSMENTS

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

12

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

15K

15,167 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Organics, Other

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

41.0cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

19%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

LITTLE RIVER NEAR EATONTON, GA

USGS site
02220900
Drainage area
262 sq mi
Long-term mean
221 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County, Georgia?
Putnam County, Georgia has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 63.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 1 health-based drinking water violation over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Putnam County?
Putnam County has 1 health-based drinking water violation 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 Putnam County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 41.9% of Putnam County's 31 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (13 impaired). The top reported causes are FECAL COLIFORM, PH, FISH BIOASSESSMENTS. 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 Putnam County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 15,167 measurements from 12 monitoring sites in Putnam County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Organics, Other. 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 Putnam County right now?
Putnam County's primary USGS streamgage on the LITTLE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 41 cubic feet per second — 19% of the long-term mean of 221.45 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 Putnam County water compare to the Georgia average?
Putnam County's SDWIS water quality score of 63.4/100 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 Putnam County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Putnam County has a water quality grade of B (63.4/100). 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).
Does Putnam County have clean drinking water?
Putnam County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 63.4/100 and grade B, the county's drinking water has had some compliance issues but continues to be monitored. Note: drinking-water compliance speaks to the public water system, not necessarily to the watershed itself — check the Watershed Health zone for ATTAINS §303(d) data.
How does Putnam County rank for water quality in Georgia?
Putnam County ranks #101 out of 159 counties in Georgia by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 63.4/100, 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

Bulloch County

Georgia

C

60.4

Water score

Fulton County

Georgia

B

66.6

Water score

Columbia County

Georgia

C

60.1

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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