County water report

McCracken County Water Report

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

Water grade

Water score

86.0

State rank

#41

of 118

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

5 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

15,339 recent measurements

Live streamflow

MASSAC CREEK NEAR PADUCAH, KY

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for McCracken County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 86.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

5 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

5% of mean

MASSAC CREEK NEAR PADUCAH, KY

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

15,339 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

86.0/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

0.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

McCracken County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #157 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

51.6

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+36.0

Compared with US county median

Mapped facilities

Riot Kentucky
Facility details limited
OSM

See the McCracken County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

Estimate daily water use for a hypothetical facility in McCracken County.

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 307.0% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

307.0% of county industrial baseline

Based on USGS 2020 water-use data and EPA-standard cooling intensity constants. Not a substitute for site-specific water rights analysis.

Editorial analysis

Understanding McCracken County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

McCracken County earns an A grade for drinking water quality, scoring 86.0 out of 100. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) records zero health-based violations over the past five years — a strong compliance signal for a small county.

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 McCracken 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 MASSAC CREEK at 1.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 5% 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. McCracken County has moderate coverage with 12 active monitoring sites with 15,339 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include organics, pesticide and physical. 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 McCracken County

Water Verdict

McCracken County, Kentucky receives an excellent water quality assessment with a grade of A and a score of 86.0 out of 100. The water supply meets or exceeds federal safety standards, and residents can generally drink tap water with confidence. 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 5.3% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for McCracken County, Kentucky show zero health-based violations, indicating that the county's water systems met all federal safety standards during the reporting period. The violation rate is zero per 100,000 people served, which is the best possible outcome. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 15,339 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

The EPA compliance record for McCracken County shows no recent health-based violations. No health-based violations have been recorded, placing McCracken County in the top tier for drinking-water safety. McCracken County's drinking-water compliance score is 86.0 out of 100. As a routine precaution, requesting your utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report each July gives you a full list of detected contaminants and their treatment levels. With 12 active water-quality monitoring sites in McCracken County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the MASSAC CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

McCracken County has better water quality than the average county in Kentucky. Its water score is 21.8 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.

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.

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

15K

15,339 total readings

Most Measured

Organics, Pesticide
Physical
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

1.01cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

MASSAC CREEK NEAR PADUCAH, KY

USGS site: 03611260
Drainage area: 14.6 sq mi
Long-term mean: 18.9 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.

Free tool

Estimate Your Water Costs

Water Cost Estimate

Household size

3 people · ~225 gal/day

Filter type

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for McCracken County:B — Good

Minor violations; waterways mostly healthy.

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 →

McCracken County has good water quality

Learn about water restrictions and conservation in your area.

Water Restrictions →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in McCracken County, Kentucky?

McCracken County, Kentucky has a drinking-water quality grade of A with a score of 86.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 0 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 McCracken County?

McCracken County has 0 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). Zero violations is an excellent record indicating consistent compliance with federal drinking water standards.

How healthy are the watersheds in McCracken County?

EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of McCracken 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.

How much water-quality monitoring happens in McCracken County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 15,339 measurements from 12 monitoring sites in McCracken County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Organics, Pesticide, Physical, 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 McCracken County right now?

McCracken County's primary USGS streamgage on the MASSAC CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 1.01 cubic feet per second — 5% of the long-term mean of 18.95 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 McCracken County water compare to the Kentucky average?

McCracken County's SDWIS water quality score of 86.0/100 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 McCracken County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, McCracken County has a water quality grade of A (86.0/100). 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 McCracken County have clean drinking water?

McCracken County has 0 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 86.0/100 and grade A, the county's drinking water meets EPA standards with no recorded health violations. 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 McCracken County rank for water quality in Kentucky?

McCracken County ranks #41 out of 118 counties in Kentucky by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 86.0/100, 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

Allen County

Kentucky

86.0

Water score

Ballard County

Kentucky

86.0

Water score

Barren County

Kentucky

86.0

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 May 14, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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