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Federal water data

County water report

Putnam County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

58.3

State rank

#36

of 92

Health violations

2

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

61.9%

247 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

18

9,433 recent measurements

Live streamflow

96%

BIG WALNUT CREEK NEAR REELSVILLE, IN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Putnam County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 58.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

2

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

62% impaired

247 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

96% of mean

BIG WALNUT CREEK NEAR REELSVILLE, IN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

18

9,433 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.

58.3/100

Health violations

2

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

7.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Putnam County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Putnam County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 58.3 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 large majority — 61.9% — of assessed waterways are impaired (153 of 247 water bodies) across Putnam 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 2004-01-22T23:00:00.000-05:00) puts BIG WALNUT CREEK at 337.0 cfs — near its historical average at 96% 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. Putnam County has moderate coverage with 18 active monitoring sites with 9,433 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 Putnam County

Water Verdict

Putnam County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 58.3 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

Putnam County has recorded 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 7.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Putnam County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Putnam County's drinking-water compliance score is 58.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Putnam County is 7.8 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 Putnam County's watershed. With 18 active water-quality monitoring sites in Putnam County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the BIG WALNUT CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Putnam County has better water quality than the average county in Indiana. Its water score is 5.8 points higher than the state average, indicating stronger water system performance relative to 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Putnam County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Putnam County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Indiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

61.9%

153 of 247 assessed

High 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

18

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

9.4K

9,433 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

337cfs

Jan 23, 4:00 AM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

96%

Near typical

Primary Streamgage

BIG WALNUT CREEK NEAR REELSVILLE, IN

USGS site
03357500
Drainage area
326 sq mi
Long-term mean
351 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County, Indiana?
Putnam County, Indiana has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 58.3/100, 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 Putnam County?
Putnam 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 Putnam County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 61.9% of Putnam County's 247 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (153 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 Putnam County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 9,433 measurements from 18 monitoring sites in Putnam 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 Putnam County right now?
Putnam County's primary USGS streamgage on the BIG WALNUT CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 337 cubic feet per second — 96% of the long-term mean of 351.45 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Putnam County water compare to the Indiana average?
Putnam County's SDWIS water quality score of 58.3/100 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 Putnam County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Putnam County has a water quality grade of C (58.3/100). 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 Putnam County have clean drinking water?
Putnam County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 58.3/100 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 Putnam County rank for water quality in Indiana?
Putnam County ranks #36 out of 92 counties in Indiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 58.3/100, 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

Dearborn County

Indiana

C

57.5

Water score

Whitley County

Indiana

C

59.1

Water score

Marshall County

Indiana

C

57.1

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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