waterbycounty
Federal water data

County water report

Finney County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

52.1

State rank

#40

of 105

Health violations

6

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

1

231 recent measurements

Live streamflow

0%

ARKANSAS R AT GARDEN CITY, KS

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Finney County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 52.1 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

6

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

0% of mean

ARKANSAS R AT GARDEN CITY, KS

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

1

231 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.

52.1/100

Health violations

6

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

13.7

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Finney County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Finney County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 52.1 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 6 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T13:30:00.000-05:00) puts ARKANSAS R at 0.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 0% 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. Finney County has limited coverage with 1 active monitoring site with 231 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include organics, other and pfas,perfluorinated alkyl substance. 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 Finney County

Water Verdict

Finney County, Kansas receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 52.1 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 27,071 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Finney County, Kansas show 6 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 13.7 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. Independent monitoring is comparatively sparse here — 231 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

Tap water in Finney County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Finney County's drinking-water compliance score is 52.1 out of 100. The violation rate for Finney County is 13.7 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. There is 1 active water-quality monitoring site in Finney County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the ARKANSAS R gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Finney County has better water quality than the average county in Kansas. Its water score is 9.5 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 Finney County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Finney County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Finney County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Finney County

Consumer Confidence Reports (KS)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Kansas

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

1

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

231

231 total readings

Most Measured

  • Organics, Other
  • PFAS,Perfluorinated Alkyl Substance
  • Inorganics, Minor, 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

0.00cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

0%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

ARKANSAS R AT GARDEN CITY, KS

USGS site
07139000
Drainage area
27,071 sq mi
Long-term mean
139 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 Finney 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.

Try the full calculator →

Improve your water quality at home

Berkey filters remove 99.9%+ of contaminants from tap water.

Shop Berkey →

Sponsored

Test your tap water

Tap Score provides professional mail-in water testing.

Get Tested →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Finney County, Kansas?
Finney County, Kansas has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 52.1/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 6 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 Finney County?
Finney County has 6 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 Finney County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 231 measurements from 1 monitoring sites in Finney County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Organics, Other, PFAS,Perfluorinated Alkyl Substance, Inorganics, Minor, 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 Finney County right now?
Finney County's primary USGS streamgage on the ARKANSAS R has a pipeline snapshot of 0 cubic feet per second — 0% of the long-term mean of 138.52 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 Finney County water compare to the Kansas average?
Finney County's SDWIS water quality score of 52.1/100 is higher 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 Finney County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Finney County has a water quality grade of C (52.1/100). 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).
Why does Finney County have so many water violations?
Finney County has 6 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 Finney County rank for water quality in Kansas?
Finney County ranks #40 out of 105 counties in Kansas by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 52.1/100, 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

Lyon County

Kansas

C

52.5

Water score

Nemaha County

Kansas

D

46.9

Water score

Neosho County

Kansas

C

60.8

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.

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

Explore more data for Finney County

Property TaxCost of LivingCrime RateIncomeHealthSchoolsDisaster RiskWeatherCounty Score