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County water report

Chickasaw County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Chickasaw County, Iowa.

Water grade

D

Water score

41.8

State rank

#80

of 99

Health violations

2

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

2

56 recent measurements

Live streamflow

53%

Little Cedar River near Ionia, IA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Chickasaw County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

D

Score: 41.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

2

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

53% of mean

Little Cedar River near Ionia, IA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

2

56 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.

41.8/100

Health violations

2

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

29.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Chickasaw County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Chickasaw County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 41.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 2 health-based violations — a small cluster that warrants attention.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T13:45:00.000-05:00) puts Little Cedar River at 115.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 53% of mean — low-flow conditions worth noting for water-dependent ecosystems. 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. Chickasaw County has limited coverage with 2 active monitoring sites with 56 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 Chickasaw County

Water Verdict

Chickasaw County, Iowa receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 41.8 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. The county's primary USGS gauge drains roughly 306 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 53.2% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Chickasaw County, Iowa show 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 29.0 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. Independent monitoring is comparatively sparse here — 56 water-quality results logged in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years — so the utility's own reporting carries extra weight.

Consumer Guidance

Chickasaw County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Chickasaw County's drinking-water compliance score is 41.8 out of 100. The violation rate for Chickasaw County is 29.0 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. There are 2 active water-quality monitoring sites in Chickasaw County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Little Cedar River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Chickasaw County has poorer water quality than the average county in Iowa. Its water score is 29.9 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 Chickasaw County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Chickasaw County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Chickasaw County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Chickasaw County

Consumer Confidence Reports (IA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Iowa

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

2

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

56

56 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Biological, Algae, Phytoplankton

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

115cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

53%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Little Cedar River near Ionia, IA

USGS site
05458000
Drainage area
306 sq mi
Long-term mean
216 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 Chickasaw 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 Chickasaw County, Iowa?
Chickasaw County, Iowa has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 41.8/100, 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 Chickasaw County?
Chickasaw 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 much water-quality monitoring happens in Chickasaw County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 56 measurements from 2 monitoring sites in Chickasaw County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Biological, Algae, Phytoplankton. 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 Chickasaw County right now?
Chickasaw County's primary USGS streamgage on the Little Cedar River has a pipeline snapshot of 115 cubic feet per second — 53% of the long-term mean of 215.97 cfs. This is well below typical — often a signal of drought stress on source water. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Chickasaw County water compare to the Iowa average?
Chickasaw County's SDWIS water quality score of 41.8/100 is lower than the Iowa state average of 71.7. The average water quality grade across Iowa is C, based on data from 99 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Chickasaw County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Chickasaw County has a water quality grade of D (41.8/100). 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).
Does Chickasaw County have clean drinking water?
Chickasaw County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 41.8/100 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 Chickasaw County rank for water quality in Iowa?
Chickasaw County ranks #80 out of 99 counties in Iowa by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 41.8/100, 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

Boone County

Iowa

F

41.1

Water score

Cedar County

Iowa

F

39.4

Water score

Jones County

Iowa

D

44.5

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.

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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