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County water report

Crittenden County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Crittenden County, Kentucky.

Water grade

F

Water score

20.0

State rank

#109

of 118

Health violations

4

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

3 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

1

20 recent measurements

Live streamflow

30%

TRADEWATER RIVER NEAR PROVIDENCE, KY

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Crittenden County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 20.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

4

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

3 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

30% of mean

TRADEWATER RIVER NEAR PROVIDENCE, KY

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

1

20 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

F

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

20.0/100

Health violations

4

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

131.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Crittenden County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Crittenden County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 20.0 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). None of the assessed waterways are listed as impaired (0 of 3 water bodies) across Crittenden County's watersheds. 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 2026-05-14T13:45:00.000-05:00) puts TRADEWATER RIVER at 319.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 30% 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. Crittenden County has limited coverage with 1 active monitoring site with 20 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 Crittenden County

Water Verdict

Crittenden County, Kentucky receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 20.0 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. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments track 3 water bodies in the county's watershed, none of which are currently listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 29.5% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Crittenden County, Kentucky show 4 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 131.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. Independent monitoring is comparatively sparse here — 20 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

Drinking-water compliance in Crittenden County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Crittenden County's drinking-water compliance score is 20.0 out of 100. 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 is 1 active water-quality monitoring site in Crittenden County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the TRADEWATER RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Crittenden County has poorer water quality than the average county in Kentucky. Its water score is 44.2 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 Crittenden County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Crittenden County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Crittenden County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Crittenden County

Consumer Confidence Reports (KY)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Kentucky

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 3 assessed

Mostly healthy

Top Impairment Causes

No specific impairment causes reported for the assessed water bodies in this county.

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

1

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

20

20 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Inorganics, Major, 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

319cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

30%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

TRADEWATER RIVER NEAR PROVIDENCE, KY

USGS site
03384100
Drainage area
605 sq mi
Long-term mean
1,081 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 Crittenden 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 Crittenden County, Kentucky?
Crittenden County, Kentucky has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 20.0/100, 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 Crittenden County?
Crittenden 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 Crittenden County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Crittenden County's 3 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (0 impaired). 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 Crittenden County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 20 measurements from 1 monitoring sites in Crittenden County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Inorganics, Major, 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 Crittenden County right now?
Crittenden County's primary USGS streamgage on the TRADEWATER RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 319 cubic feet per second — 30% of the long-term mean of 1,080.53 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 Crittenden County water compare to the Kentucky average?
Crittenden County's SDWIS water quality score of 20.0/100 is lower than the Kentucky state average of 64.2. The average water quality grade across Kentucky is C, based on data from 118 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Crittenden County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Crittenden County has a water quality grade of F (20.0/100). 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 Crittenden County have clean drinking water?
Crittenden County has 4 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 20.0/100 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 Crittenden County rank for water quality in Kentucky?
Crittenden County ranks #109 out of 118 counties in Kentucky by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 20.0/100, 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

Lyon County

Kentucky

F

21.5

Water score

Menifee County

Kentucky

F

18.4

Water score

Montgomery County

Kentucky

F

18.4

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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