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County water report

Kootenai County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Kootenai County, Idaho.

Water grade

F

Water score

35.5

State rank

#19

of 44

Health violations

74

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

47.7%

375 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

31

6,118 recent measurements

Live streamflow

153%

Spokane River near Post Falls, ID

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Kootenai County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 35.5 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

74

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

48% impaired

375 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

153% of mean

Spokane River near Post Falls, ID

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

31

6,118 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.

35.5/100

Health violations

74

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

44.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Kootenai County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Kootenai County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 35.5 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 74 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 47.7% of assessed waterways are impaired (179 of 375 water bodies) across Kootenai County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are temperature and sedimentation/siltation. 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 2026-05-14T11:30:00.000-07:00) puts Spokane River at 9.4k cfs — running significantly above its long-term average at 153% of mean flow. 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. Kootenai County has moderate coverage with 31 active monitoring sites with 6,118 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and inorganics, minor, metals. 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 Kootenai County

Water Verdict

Kootenai County, Idaho receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 35.5 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 375 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 47.7% 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 running above its historical mean at 152.9%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Kootenai County, Idaho show 74 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 44.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 6,118 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Kootenai County has a Grade F compliance record with 74 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Kootenai County's drinking-water compliance score is 35.5 out of 100. The violation rate for Kootenai County is 44.8 per 100,000 people served. Residents are strongly advised to use a certified NSF 58 reverse-osmosis filter or bottled water for all drinking and cooking until violations are corrected. Contacting the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. Temperature is the leading impairment cause in Kootenai County's watershed. With 31 active water-quality monitoring sites in Kootenai County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Spokane River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Kootenai County has water quality close to the average county in Idaho. Its water score is within 2.9 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Idaho 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 Kootenai County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Elevated temperature

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

  • 2

    Sedimentation and siltation

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

  • 3

    Phosphorus (excess nutrients)

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Kootenai County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Kootenai County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Kootenai County

Consumer Confidence Reports (ID)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Idaho

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

47.7%

179 of 375 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    TEMPERATURE

  • 2

    SEDIMENTATION/SILTATION

  • 3

    PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL

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

31

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

6.1K

6,118 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Biological, Fish

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

9,390cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

153%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

Spokane River near Post Falls, ID

USGS site
12419000
Drainage area
3,840 sq mi
Long-term mean
6,143 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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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 Kootenai 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 Kootenai County, Idaho?
Kootenai County, Idaho has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 35.5/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 74 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 Kootenai County?
Kootenai County has 74 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 Kootenai County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 47.7% of Kootenai County's 375 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (179 impaired). The top reported causes are TEMPERATURE, SEDIMENTATION/SILTATION, PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL. 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 Kootenai County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 6,118 measurements from 31 monitoring sites in Kootenai County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Biological, Fish. 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 Kootenai County right now?
Kootenai County's primary USGS streamgage on the Spokane River has a pipeline snapshot of 9,390 cubic feet per second — 153% of the long-term mean of 6,142.74 cfs. This is well above typical — often a signal of recent precipitation or storm runoff. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Kootenai County water compare to the Idaho average?
Kootenai County's SDWIS water quality score of 35.5/100 is higher than the Idaho state average of 32.6. The average water quality grade across Idaho is F, based on data from 44 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Kootenai County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Kootenai County has a water quality grade of F (35.5/100). 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 Kootenai County have so many water violations?
Kootenai County has 74 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 Kootenai County rank for water quality in Idaho?
Kootenai County ranks #19 out of 44 counties in Idaho by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 35.5/100, 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

Teton County

Idaho

F

35.7

Water score

Lincoln County

Idaho

F

35.8

Water score

Caribou County

Idaho

F

36.7

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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