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County water report

Letcher County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

14.8

State rank

#113

of 118

Health violations

25

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

5 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

N/A

EPA Water Quality Portal

Live streamflow

35%

NORTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER AT WHITESBURG, KY

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Letcher County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 14.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

25

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

5 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

35% of mean

NORTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER AT WHITESBURG, KY

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

N/A

Rolling 5-year window

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.

14.8/100

Health violations

25

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

202.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Letcher County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Letcher County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 14.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 25 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 5 water bodies) across Letcher 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 NORTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER at 28.3 cfs — well below its long-term average at 35% 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.

Editorial advisory

What the data suggests for Letcher County

Water Verdict

Letcher County, Kentucky receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 14.8 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 5 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 35.4% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Letcher County, Kentucky show 25 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 202.3 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. The most recent Clean Water Act assessment cycle on file for the county's watershed is 2022.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Letcher County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Letcher County's drinking-water compliance score is 14.8 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. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the NORTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Letcher County has poorer water quality than the average county in Kentucky. Its water score is 49.4 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 Letcher County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Letcher County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Letcher County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Letcher 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 5 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.

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

28.3cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

35%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

NORTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER AT WHITESBURG, KY

USGS site
03277300
Drainage area
66.4 sq mi
Long-term mean
79.9 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.

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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 Letcher 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 Letcher County, Kentucky?
Letcher County, Kentucky has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 14.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 25 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 Letcher County?
Letcher County has 25 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 Letcher County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Letcher County's 5 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.
What's happening with rivers in Letcher County right now?
Letcher County's primary USGS streamgage on the NORTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 28.3 cubic feet per second — 35% of the long-term mean of 79.87 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 Letcher County water compare to the Kentucky average?
Letcher County's SDWIS water quality score of 14.8/100 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 Letcher County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Letcher County has a water quality grade of F (14.8/100). 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).
Why does Letcher County have so many water violations?
Letcher County has 25 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 Letcher County rank for water quality in Kentucky?
Letcher County ranks #113 out of 118 counties in Kentucky by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 14.8/100, 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

Edmonson County

Kentucky

F

14.6

Water score

Livingston County

Kentucky

F

12.6

Water score

McLean County

Kentucky

F

12.4

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.

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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