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County water report

Jefferson Parish Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

Water grade

B

Water score

69.0

State rank

#8

of 63

Health violations

6

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

81.7%

71 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

67

21,784 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

Primary USGS station not mapped

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Jefferson Parish

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 69.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

6

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

82% impaired

71 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

Primary USGS gauge not mapped

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

67

21,784 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

6

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

1.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Jefferson Parish’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Jefferson Parish earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 69.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 6 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). A large majority — 81.7% — of assessed waterways are impaired (58 of 71 water bodies) across Jefferson Parish's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are enterococcus and dissolved oxygen. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Jefferson Parish has extensive coverage with 67 active monitoring sites with 21,784 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and microbiological. 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 Jefferson Parish

Water Verdict

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana 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 cover 71 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 81.7% listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act — a source-water measure that is tracked independently of tap-water compliance.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana show 6 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 1.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is relatively low compared to many U.S. counties. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 21,784 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Jefferson Parish meets baseline safety standards, though the compliance record shows some violations worth watching. Jefferson Parish's drinking-water compliance score is 69.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Jefferson Parish is 1.4 per 100,000 people served. Running tap water for 30 seconds before drinking can reduce any localized lead exposure from household plumbing. Requesting your utility's most recent Consumer Confidence Report is the fastest way to identify which specific contaminants were flagged. Enterococcus is the leading impairment cause in Jefferson Parish's watershed. With 67 active water-quality monitoring sites in Jefferson Parish, data coverage is strong.

Regional Context

Jefferson Parish has better water quality than the average county in Louisiana. Its water score is 38.9 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.

Contaminants & Resources

Key issues flagged in Jefferson Parish's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Enterococcus bacteria

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 2

    Low dissolved oxygen

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 3

    Fecal coliform bacteria

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Jefferson Parish

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Jefferson Parish

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Jefferson Parish

Consumer Confidence Reports (LA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Louisiana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

81.7%

58 of 71 assessed

High concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ENTEROCOCCUS

  • 2

    DISSOLVED OXYGEN

  • 3

    FECAL COLIFORM

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

67

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

22K

21,784 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Microbiological
  • 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).

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Water Cost Estimate

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3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

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Safety Grade for Jefferson Parish: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 Jefferson Parish, Louisiana?
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 69.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 6 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 Jefferson Parish?
Jefferson Parish has 6 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 Jefferson Parish?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 81.7% of Jefferson Parish's 71 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (58 impaired). The top reported causes are ENTEROCOCCUS, DISSOLVED OXYGEN, FECAL COLIFORM. 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 Jefferson Parish?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 21,784 measurements from 67 monitoring sites in Jefferson Parish over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Microbiological, 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.
How does Jefferson Parish water compare to the Louisiana average?
Jefferson Parish's SDWIS water quality score of 69.0/100 is higher than the Louisiana state average of 30.1. The average water quality grade across Louisiana is F, based on data from 63 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Jefferson Parish?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Jefferson Parish 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).
Why does Jefferson Parish have so many water violations?
Jefferson Parish has 6 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 Jefferson Parish rank for water quality in Louisiana?
Jefferson Parish ranks #8 out of 63 counties in Louisiana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 69.0/100, it falls in the top 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

East Baton Rouge Parish

Louisiana

A

70.4

Water score

Orleans Parish

Louisiana

B

65.8

Water score

West Baton Rouge Parish

Louisiana

B

65.3

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.

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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