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County water report

Lincoln County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

52.0

State rank

#78

of 118

Health violations

3

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

3 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

N/A

EPA Water Quality Portal

Live streamflow

1%

GREEN RIVER NEAR MCKINNEY, KY

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Lincoln County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 52.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

3

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

3 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

1% of mean

GREEN RIVER NEAR MCKINNEY, KY

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

N/A

Rolling 5-year window

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.

52.0/100

Health violations

3

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

13.9

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Lincoln County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Lincoln County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 52.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 3 health-based violations — a small cluster that warrants attention.

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 Lincoln 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 2026-05-14T14:15:00.000-04:00) puts GREEN RIVER at 0.3 cfs — well below its long-term average at 1% 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 Lincoln County

Water Verdict

Lincoln County, Kentucky receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 52.0 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. 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 0.7% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Lincoln County, Kentucky show 3 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 13.9 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

Tap water in Lincoln County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Lincoln County's drinking-water compliance score is 52.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Lincoln County is 13.9 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. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the GREEN RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Lincoln County has poorer water quality than the average county in Kentucky. Its water score is 12.2 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 Lincoln County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Lincoln County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Lincoln County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Lincoln 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.

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

0.26cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

1%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

GREEN RIVER NEAR MCKINNEY, KY

USGS site
03305000
Drainage area
22.4 sq mi
Long-term mean
39.6 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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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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, Kentucky?
Lincoln County, Kentucky has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 52.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 3 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 Lincoln County?
Lincoln County has 3 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 Lincoln County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Lincoln 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.
What's happening with rivers in Lincoln County right now?
Lincoln County's primary USGS streamgage on the GREEN RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 0.26 cubic feet per second — 1% of the long-term mean of 39.58 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 Lincoln County water compare to the Kentucky average?
Lincoln County's SDWIS water quality score of 52.0/100 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 Lincoln County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Lincoln County has a water quality grade of C (52.0/100). 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).
Does Lincoln County have clean drinking water?
Lincoln County has 3 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 52.0/100 and grade C, 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 Lincoln County rank for water quality in Kentucky?
Lincoln County ranks #78 out of 118 counties in Kentucky by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 52.0/100, 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

Carter County

Kentucky

C

51.8

Water score

Bourbon County

Kentucky

C

52.7

Water score

Rowan County

Kentucky

C

51.1

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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