County water report

Barber County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Barber County, Kansas.

Water grade

Water score

32.7

State rank

#53

of 105

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

36 recent measurements

Live streamflow

24%

MEDICINE LODGE R NR KIOWA, KS

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Barber County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 32.7 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

24% of mean

MEDICINE LODGE R NR KIOWA, KS

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

36 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.

32.7/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

55.2

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Barber County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #2074 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

19.6

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-17.3

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Mapped facilities

OpenStreetMap data center 1498005255
Medicine Lodge · SC
OSM

See the Barber County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 1899.1% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

1899.1% of county industrial baseline

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 Barber County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Barber County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 32.7 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 2026-05-14T13:30:00.000-05:00) puts MEDICINE LODGE R at 35.8 cfs — well below its long-term average at 24% 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. Barber County has limited coverage with 2 active monitoring sites with 36 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include nutrient and physical. 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 Barber County

Water Verdict

Barber County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 32.7 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

Barber County has recorded 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 55.2 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Barber County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Barber County's drinking-water compliance score is 32.7 out of 100. The violation rate for Barber County is 55.2 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. There are 2 active water-quality monitoring sites in Barber County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the MEDICINE LODGE R gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Barber County has poorer water quality than the average county in Kansas. Its water score is 9.9 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 Barber County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Barber County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Barber County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Barber County

Consumer Confidence Reports (KS)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Kansas

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

36 total readings

Most Measured

Nutrient
Physical
Inorganics, Major, Non-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).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

35.8cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

24%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

MEDICINE LODGE R NR KIOWA, KS

USGS site: 07149000
Drainage area: 903 sq mi
Long-term mean: 148 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

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 Barber County:F — Failing

High violation count or severe watershed conditions.

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 Barber County, Kansas?

Barber County, Kansas has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 32.7/100, 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 Barber County?

Barber 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 Barber County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 36 measurements from 2 monitoring sites in Barber County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Nutrient, Physical, Inorganics, Major, Non-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.

What's happening with rivers in Barber County right now?

Barber County's primary USGS streamgage on the MEDICINE LODGE R has a pipeline snapshot of 35.8 cubic feet per second — 24% of the long-term mean of 147.85 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 Barber County water compare to the Kansas average?

Barber County's SDWIS water quality score of 32.7/100 is lower than the Kansas state average of 42.6. The average water quality grade across Kansas is D, based on data from 105 counties with available SDWIS data.

Is tap water safe to drink in Barber County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Barber County has a water quality grade of F (32.7/100). 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 Barber County have clean drinking water?

Barber County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 32.7/100 and grade F, 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 Barber County rank for water quality in Kansas?

Barber County ranks #53 out of 105 counties in Kansas by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 32.7/100, 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

Pawnee County

Kansas

33.6

Water score

Osage County

Kansas

33.8

Water score

Barton County

Kansas

31.5

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 May 14, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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