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Federal water data

County water report

Montgomery County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

40.0

State rank

#64

of 92

Health violations

7

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

42.9%

163 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

39

11,135 recent measurements

Live streamflow

69%

SUGAR CREEK AT CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Montgomery County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 40.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

7

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

43% impaired

163 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

69% of mean

SUGAR CREEK AT CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

39

11,135 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.

40.0/100

Health violations

7

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

32.2

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Montgomery County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Montgomery County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 40.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 7 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 42.9% of assessed waterways are impaired (70 of 163 water bodies) across Montgomery 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 2026-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00) puts SUGAR CREEK at 356.0 cfs — running somewhat below its historical average at 69% 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. Montgomery County has moderate coverage with 39 active monitoring sites with 11,135 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 Montgomery County

Water Verdict

Montgomery County receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 40.0 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking.

Violation Context

Montgomery County has recorded 7 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 32.2 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Montgomery County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Montgomery County's drinking-water compliance score is 40.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Montgomery County is 32.2 per 100,000 people served. An NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter is recommended for drinking and cooking water. Check the Consumer Confidence Report from your utility to identify the specific contaminants and required corrective actions — utilities are legally required to notify customers of violations. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Montgomery County's watershed. With 39 active water-quality monitoring sites in Montgomery County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the SUGAR CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Montgomery County has poorer water quality than the average county in Indiana. Its water score is 12.5 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 Montgomery 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

    Nutrient pollution

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Montgomery County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Montgomery County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Montgomery County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Indiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

42.9%

70 of 163 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    PCBS IN FISH TISSUE

  • 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

39

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

11K

11,135 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

356cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

69%

Below typical

Primary Streamgage

SUGAR CREEK AT CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN

USGS site
03339500
Drainage area
512 sq mi
Long-term mean
513 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, Indiana?
Montgomery County, Indiana has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 40.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 7 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 Montgomery County?
Montgomery County has 7 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 Montgomery County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 42.9% of Montgomery County's 163 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (70 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), PCBS IN FISH TISSUE, 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 Montgomery County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 11,135 measurements from 39 monitoring sites in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County right now?
Montgomery County's primary USGS streamgage on the SUGAR CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 356 cubic feet per second — 69% of the long-term mean of 513.15 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Montgomery County water compare to the Indiana average?
Montgomery County's SDWIS water quality score of 40.0/100 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 Montgomery County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Montgomery County has a water quality grade of F (40.0/100). 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 Montgomery County have so many water violations?
Montgomery County has 7 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 Montgomery County rank for water quality in Indiana?
Montgomery County ranks #64 out of 92 counties in Indiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 40.0/100, 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

Monroe County

Indiana

F

39.8

Water score

Ripley County

Indiana

D

41.5

Water score

Vermillion County

Indiana

F

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.

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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