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County water report

Hancock County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Hancock County, Indiana.

Water grade

A

Water score

86.0

State rank

#5

of 92

Health violations

0

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

39.0%

77 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

20

22,831 recent measurements

Live streamflow

74%

SUGAR CREEK AT NEW PALESTINE, IN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Hancock County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

A

Score: 86.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

0

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

39% impaired

77 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

74% of mean

SUGAR CREEK AT NEW PALESTINE, IN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

20

22,831 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

A

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

86.0/100

Health violations

0

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

0.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Hancock County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #153 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSIThe Data Center Water Stress Index: 60% the county's water-system stress plus 40% how concentrated data centers already are, scored 0-100. Higher means data-center density and water pressure overlap more here.

51.6

0-100 index

Facility count

1

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+36.0

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Verizon Wireless

Mapped facilities

  • OpenStreetMap data center 349925359

    New Palestine · Verizon Wireless

    OSM
See the Hancock County data-center reportReview methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

Estimate daily water use for a hypothetical facility in Hancock County.

1 MW1,000 MW
40%100%
799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 234.5% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

234.5% of county industrial baseline

Based on USGS 2020 water-use data and EPA-standard cooling intensity constants. Not a substitute for site-specific water rights analysis.

Editorial analysis

Understanding Hancock County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Hancock County earns an A grade for drinking water quality, scoring 86.0 out of 100. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) records zero health-based violations over the past five years — a strong compliance signal for a mid-sized county.

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 39.0% of assessed waterways are impaired (30 of 77 water bodies) across Hancock County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and biological integrity. 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 SUGAR CREEK at 81.7 cfs — running somewhat below its historical average at 74% of mean. 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. Hancock County has moderate coverage with 20 active monitoring sites with 22,831 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include organics, pesticide and physical. 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 Hancock County

Water Verdict

Hancock County, Indiana receives an excellent water quality assessment with a grade of A and a score of 86.0 out of 100. The water supply meets or exceeds federal safety standards, and residents can generally drink tap water with confidence. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 77 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 39.0% 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 74.4% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Hancock County, Indiana show zero health-based violations, indicating that the county's water systems met all federal safety standards during the reporting period. The violation rate is zero per 100,000 people served, which is the best possible outcome. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 22,831 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

The EPA compliance record for Hancock County shows no recent health-based violations. Hancock County's drinking-water compliance score is 86.0 out of 100. Watershed monitoring does show E. coli in local surface water — a reminder that treated drinking water and source-water quality are measured separately. Reviewing your utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report each July confirms that treatment is keeping pace with any upstream pressures. With 20 active water-quality monitoring sites in Hancock County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the SUGAR CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Hancock County has better water quality than the average county in Indiana. Its water score is 33.5 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 Hancock County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 2

    Biological Integrity

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

  • 3

    Nutrient pollution

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Hancock County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Hancock County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Hancock County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Indiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

39.0%

30 of 77 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

  • 3

    NUTRIENTS

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

20

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

23K

22,831 total readings

Most Measured

  • Organics, Pesticide
  • Physical
  • Nutrient

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

81.7cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

74%

Below typical

Primary Streamgage

SUGAR CREEK AT NEW PALESTINE, IN

USGS site
03361650
Drainage area
93.9 sq mi
Long-term mean
110 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 Hancock 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.

Try the full calculator →

Hancock County has good water quality

Learn about water restrictions and conservation in your area.

Water Restrictions →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Hancock County, Indiana?
Hancock County, Indiana has a drinking-water quality grade of A with a score of 86.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 0 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 Hancock County?
Hancock County has 0 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). Zero violations is an excellent record indicating consistent compliance with federal drinking water standards.
How healthy are the watersheds in Hancock County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 39.0% of Hancock County's 77 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (30 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY, NUTRIENTS. 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 Hancock County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 22,831 measurements from 20 monitoring sites in Hancock County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Organics, Pesticide, Physical, Nutrient. 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 Hancock County right now?
Hancock County's primary USGS streamgage on the SUGAR CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 81.7 cubic feet per second — 74% of the long-term mean of 109.75 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Hancock County water compare to the Indiana average?
Hancock County's SDWIS water quality score of 86.0/100 is higher than the Indiana state average of 52.5. The average water quality grade across Indiana is D, based on data from 92 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Hancock County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Hancock County has a water quality grade of A (86.0/100). 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 Hancock County have clean drinking water?
Hancock County has 0 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 86.0/100 and grade A, the county's drinking water meets EPA standards with no recorded health violations. 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 Hancock County rank for water quality in Indiana?
Hancock County ranks #5 out of 92 counties in Indiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 86.0/100, it falls in the top 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

Blackford County

Indiana

A

86.0

Water score

Brown County

Indiana

A

86.0

Water score

Fayette County

Indiana

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

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