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County water report

Madison County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

53.0

State rank

#48

of 92

Health violations

12

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

67.6%

102 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

21

6,327 recent measurements

Live streamflow

44%

WHITE RIVER AT RAIBLE AVENUE AT ANDERSON, IN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Madison County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 53.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

12

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

68% impaired

102 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

44% of mean

WHITE RIVER AT RAIBLE AVENUE AT ANDERSON, IN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

21

6,327 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

C

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

53.0/100

Health violations

12

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

12.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Madison County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Madison County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 53.0 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 large majority — 67.6% — of assessed waterways are impaired (69 of 102 water bodies) across Madison County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and pcbs in fish tissue. 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 2026-05-14T15:00:00.000-04:00) puts WHITE RIVER at 291.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 44% 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. Madison County has moderate coverage with 21 active monitoring sites with 6,327 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 Madison County

Water Verdict

Madison County, Indiana receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 53.0 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 102 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 67.6% 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 44.4% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Madison County, Indiana show 12 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 12.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 6,327 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Madison County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Madison County's drinking-water compliance score is 53.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Madison County is 12.4 per 100,000 people served. Residents who are immunocompromised, pregnant, or have young children may benefit from using an NSF 53-certified filter. Contacting your local utility for the current Consumer Confidence Report will confirm which specific violations were recorded and whether they have been resolved. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Madison County's watershed. With 21 active water-quality monitoring sites in Madison County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the WHITE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Madison County has water quality close to the average county in Indiana. Its water score is within 0.5 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Indiana 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 Madison County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 2

    Pcbs in Fish Tissue

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

  • 3

    Biological Integrity

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Madison County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Madison County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Madison County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Indiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

67.6%

69 of 102 assessed

High concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    PCBS IN FISH TISSUE

  • 3

    BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

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

21

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

6.3K

6,327 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • 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

291cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

44%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

WHITE RIVER AT RAIBLE AVENUE AT ANDERSON, IN

USGS site
03348130
Drainage area
519 sq mi
Long-term mean
656 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

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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 Madison County:D — Poor

Elevated violations or significant watershed impairment.

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 Madison County, Indiana?
Madison County, Indiana has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 53.0/100, 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 Madison County?
Madison 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 Madison County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 67.6% of Madison County's 102 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (69 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), PCBS IN FISH TISSUE, BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY. 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 Madison County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 6,327 measurements from 21 monitoring sites in Madison County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, 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 Madison County right now?
Madison County's primary USGS streamgage on the WHITE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 291 cubic feet per second — 44% of the long-term mean of 655.8 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 Madison County water compare to the Indiana average?
Madison County's SDWIS water quality score of 53.0/100 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 Madison County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Madison County has a water quality grade of C (53.0/100). This indicates moderate compliance. Some violations have been recorded but overall standards are maintained. 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 Madison County have so many water violations?
Madison 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 Madison County rank for water quality in Indiana?
Madison County ranks #48 out of 92 counties in Indiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 53.0/100, 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

Fulton County

Indiana

C

53.2

Water score

Clark County

Indiana

C

53.5

Water score

Hamilton County

Indiana

C

53.6

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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