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County water report

Laurel County Water Report

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

Water grade

B

Water score

69.0

State rank

#66

of 118

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

3 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

9

2,958 recent measurements

Live streamflow

7%

ROCKCASTLE RIVER AT BILLOWS, KY

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Laurel County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 69.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

3 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

7% of mean

ROCKCASTLE RIVER AT BILLOWS, KY

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

9

2,958 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

B

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

69.0/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

1.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Laurel County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Laurel County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 69.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 1 health-based violation — a single incident worth monitoring.

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 Laurel 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 2026-05-14T14:30:00.000-04:00) puts ROCKCASTLE RIVER at 66.9 cfs — well below its long-term average at 7% 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. Laurel County has limited coverage with 9 active monitoring sites with 2,958 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 Laurel County

Water Verdict

Laurel County, Kentucky receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 69.0 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring. 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 7.0% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Laurel County, Kentucky show 1 health-based violation, meaning a water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 1.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is relatively low compared to many U.S. counties. For independent context, 2,958 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Laurel County scores well above average for drinking-water safety. Laurel County's drinking-water compliance score is 69.0 out of 100. With 1 recorded health violation, the water supply is generally reliable. The violation rate for Laurel County is 1.4 per 100,000 people served. Households with infants, pregnant individuals, or immunocompromised members may want to use an NSF 53-certified pitcher filter as a low-cost precaution. There are 9 active water-quality monitoring sites in Laurel County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the ROCKCASTLE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Laurel County has water quality close to the average county in Kentucky. Its water score is within 4.8 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Kentucky as a whole.

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 Laurel County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Laurel County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Laurel County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Laurel 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

9

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

3.0K

2,958 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

66.9cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

7%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

ROCKCASTLE RIVER AT BILLOWS, KY

USGS site
03406500
Drainage area
604 sq mi
Long-term mean
960 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 Laurel 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 Laurel County, Kentucky?
Laurel County, Kentucky has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 69.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 1 health-based drinking water violation over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Laurel County?
Laurel County has 1 health-based drinking water violation 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 Laurel County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Laurel 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 Laurel County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 2,958 measurements from 9 monitoring sites in Laurel 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 Laurel County right now?
Laurel County's primary USGS streamgage on the ROCKCASTLE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 66.9 cubic feet per second — 7% of the long-term mean of 959.93 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 Laurel County water compare to the Kentucky average?
Laurel County's SDWIS water quality score of 69.0/100 is higher 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 Laurel County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Laurel County has a water quality grade of B (69.0/100). This indicates good to excellent water quality with strong SDWIS compliance. 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 Laurel County have clean drinking water?
Laurel County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 69.0/100 and grade B, 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 Laurel County rank for water quality in Kentucky?
Laurel County ranks #66 out of 118 counties in Kentucky by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 69.0/100, 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

Madison County

Kentucky

B

69.7

Water score

Hardin County

Kentucky

A

70.6

Water score

Marion County

Kentucky

B

64.0

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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