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Federal water data

County water report

Marshall County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

57.1

State rank

#38

of 92

Health violations

2

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

51.3%

158 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

35

1,102 recent measurements

Live streamflow

81%

YELLOW RIVER AT PLYMOUTH, IN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Marshall County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 57.1 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

2

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

51% impaired

158 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

81% of mean

YELLOW RIVER AT PLYMOUTH, IN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

35

1,102 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.

57.1/100

Health violations

2

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

8.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Marshall County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Marshall County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 57.1 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 2 health-based violations — a small cluster that warrants attention.

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 51.3% of assessed waterways are impaired (81 of 158 water bodies) across Marshall 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 2026-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00) puts YELLOW RIVER at 223.0 cfs — running somewhat below its historical average at 81% 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. Marshall County has moderate coverage with 35 active monitoring sites with 1,102 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 Marshall County

Water Verdict

Marshall County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 57.1 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Marshall County has recorded 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 8.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Marshall County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Marshall County's drinking-water compliance score is 57.1 out of 100. The violation rate for Marshall County is 8.8 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 Marshall County's watershed. With 35 active water-quality monitoring sites in Marshall County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the YELLOW RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Marshall County has water quality close to the average county in Indiana. Its water score is within 4.6 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 Marshall 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

    Pcbs in Fish Tissue

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Marshall County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Marshall County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Marshall County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Indiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

51.3%

81 of 158 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

  • 3

    PCBS IN FISH TISSUE

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

35

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

1.1K

1,102 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • PFAS,Perfluorinated Alkyl Substance

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

223cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

81%

Below typical

Primary Streamgage

YELLOW RIVER AT PLYMOUTH, IN

USGS site
05516500
Drainage area
294 sq mi
Long-term mean
276 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 Marshall 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 Marshall County, Indiana?
Marshall County, Indiana has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 57.1/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 2 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 Marshall County?
Marshall County has 2 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 Marshall County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 51.3% of Marshall County's 158 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (81 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY, PCBS IN FISH TISSUE. 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 Marshall County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 1,102 measurements from 35 monitoring sites in Marshall County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, PFAS,Perfluorinated Alkyl Substance. 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 Marshall County right now?
Marshall County's primary USGS streamgage on the YELLOW RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 223 cubic feet per second — 81% of the long-term mean of 275.78 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Marshall County water compare to the Indiana average?
Marshall County's SDWIS water quality score of 57.1/100 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 Marshall County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Marshall County has a water quality grade of C (57.1/100). 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).
Does Marshall County have clean drinking water?
Marshall County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 57.1/100 and grade C, 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 Marshall County rank for water quality in Indiana?
Marshall County ranks #38 out of 92 counties in Indiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 57.1/100, 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

Grant County

Indiana

C

56.8

Water score

Dearborn County

Indiana

C

57.5

Water score

Elkhart County

Indiana

C

56.4

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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