County water report

Monroe County Water Report

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

Water grade

Water score

39.8

State rank

#65

of 92

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

35.0%

220 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

8,185 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

SALT CREEK NEAR HARRODSBURG, IN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Monroe County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 39.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

35% impaired

220 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

SALT CREEK NEAR HARRODSBURG, IN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

8,185 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

39.8/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

32.5

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Monroe County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #1862 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

23.9

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-10.2

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Indiana University

Mapped facilities

IU Data Center
Bloomington · Indiana University
OSM

See the Monroe County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 65.0% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

65.0% of county industrial baseline0.43 Mgal/day remaining headroom

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 Monroe County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Monroe County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 39.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 41 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 35.0% of assessed waterways are impaired (77 of 220 water bodies) across Monroe 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.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Monroe County has extensive coverage with 59 active monitoring sites with 8,185 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 Monroe County

Water Verdict

Monroe County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 39.8 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.

Violation Context

Monroe County has recorded 41 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 32.5 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Monroe County has a Grade F compliance record with 41 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Monroe County's drinking-water compliance score is 39.8 out of 100. The violation rate for Monroe County is 32.5 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 Indiana Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Monroe County's watershed. With 59 active water-quality monitoring sites in Monroe County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the SALT CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Monroe County has poorer water quality than the average county in Indiana. Its water score is 12.7 points lower than the state average, suggesting more challenges with contamination control or infrastructure than 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Monroe County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Monroe County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Indiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

35.0%

77 of 220 assessed

Moderate 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

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

8.2K

8,185 total readings

Most Measured

Physical
Nutrient
Inorganics, Minor, Metals

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).

Free tool

Estimate Your Water Costs

Water Cost Estimate

Household size

3 people · ~225 gal/day

Filter type

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Monroe 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 →

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Monroe County, Indiana?

Monroe County, Indiana has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 39.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 41 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 Monroe County?

Monroe County has 41 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 Monroe County?

EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 35.0% of Monroe County's 220 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (77 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 Monroe County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 8,185 measurements from 59 monitoring sites in Monroe County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Inorganics, Minor, Metals. 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.

How does Monroe County water compare to the Indiana average?

Monroe County's SDWIS water quality score of 39.8/100 is lower 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 Monroe County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Monroe County has a water quality grade of F (39.8/100). 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 Monroe County have so many water violations?

Monroe County has 41 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 Monroe County rank for water quality in Indiana?

Monroe County ranks #65 out of 92 counties in Indiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 39.8/100, it falls in the bottom 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

Montgomery County

Indiana

40.0

Water score

Ripley County

Indiana

41.5

Water score

Vermillion County

Indiana

38.0

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.

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 May 14, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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