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Federal water data

County water report

Pike County Water Report

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

Water grade

D

Water score

46.2

State rank

#61

of 92

Health violations

4

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

47.5%

217 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

20

11,656 recent measurements

Live streamflow

184%

WHITE RIVER AT PETERSBURG, IN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Pike County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

D

Score: 46.2 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

4

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

48% impaired

217 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

184% of mean

WHITE RIVER AT PETERSBURG, IN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

20

11,656 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

D

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

46.2/100

Health violations

4

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

21.9

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Pike County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Pike County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 46.2 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 4 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 47.5% of assessed waterways are impaired (103 of 217 water bodies) across Pike County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are biological integrity and escherichia coli (e. coli). 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 WHITE RIVER at 23.8k cfs — running significantly above its long-term average at 184% of mean flow. 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. Pike County has moderate coverage with 20 active monitoring sites with 11,656 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 Pike County

Water Verdict

Pike County, Indiana receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 46.2 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 217 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 47.5% 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 running above its historical mean at 183.8%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Pike County, Indiana show 4 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 21.9 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 11,656 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Pike County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Pike County's drinking-water compliance score is 46.2 out of 100. The violation rate for Pike County is 21.9 per 100,000 people served. Residents are encouraged to use an NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter for drinking and cooking water until the underlying violations are resolved. Running tap water for 30 seconds before use and avoiding older lead-pipe connections can also reduce exposure risk. The current Consumer Confidence Report from your utility will specify the contaminants of concern. Biological Integrity is the leading impairment cause in Pike County's watershed. With 20 active water-quality monitoring sites in Pike County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the WHITE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Pike County has poorer water quality than the average county in Indiana. Its water score is 6.3 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 Pike County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Biological Integrity

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

  • 2

    E. coli (bacteria)

    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 Pike County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Pike County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Pike County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Indiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

47.5%

103 of 217 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

  • 2

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 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

20

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

12K

11,656 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Organics, Pesticide

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

23.8Kcfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

184%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

WHITE RIVER AT PETERSBURG, IN

USGS site
03374000
Drainage area
11,125 sq mi
Long-term mean
12.9K 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 Pike 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 Pike County, Indiana?
Pike County, Indiana has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 46.2/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 4 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 Pike County?
Pike County has 4 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 Pike County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 47.5% of Pike County's 217 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (103 impaired). The top reported causes are BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY, ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), 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 Pike County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 11,656 measurements from 20 monitoring sites in Pike County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Organics, Pesticide. 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 Pike County right now?
Pike County's primary USGS streamgage on the WHITE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 23,800 cubic feet per second — 184% of the long-term mean of 12,948.26 cfs. This is well above typical — often a signal of recent precipitation or storm runoff. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Pike County water compare to the Indiana average?
Pike County's SDWIS water quality score of 46.2/100 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 Pike County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Pike County has a water quality grade of D (46.2/100). 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).
Does Pike County have clean drinking water?
Pike County has 4 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 46.2/100 and grade D, 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 Pike County rank for water quality in Indiana?
Pike County ranks #61 out of 92 counties in Indiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 46.2/100, 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

DeKalb County

Indiana

D

47.5

Water score

Boone County

Indiana

D

47.7

Water score

Warrick County

Indiana

D

47.8

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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