County water report

Bristol County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Bristol County, Massachusetts.

Water grade

Water score

60.4

State rank

#13

of 14

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

148

13,227 recent measurements

Live streamflow

59%

THREEMILE RIVER AT NORTH DIGHTON, MA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Bristol County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 60.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

59% of mean

THREEMILE RIVER AT NORTH DIGHTON, MA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

148

13,227 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.

60.4/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

6.2

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Bristol County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #1268 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

36.2

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+10.4

Compared with US county median

Mapped facilities

CONGRUITY 360 LLC
FALL RIVER
EPA ECHO

See the Bristol County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 20.8% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

20.8% of county industrial baseline3.05 Mgal/day remaining headroom

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 Bristol County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Bristol County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 60.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 39 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T14:15:00.000-04:00) puts THREEMILE RIVER at 99.4 cfs — well below its long-term average at 59% 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. Bristol County has extensive coverage with 148 active monitoring sites with 13,227 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 Bristol County

Water Verdict

Bristol County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 60.4 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Bristol County has recorded 39 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 6.2 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Bristol County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Bristol County's drinking-water compliance score is 60.4 out of 100. The violation rate for Bristol County is 6.2 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. With 148 active water-quality monitoring sites in Bristol County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the THREEMILE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Bristol County has poorer water quality than the average county in Massachusetts. Its water score is 8.7 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 Bristol County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Bristol County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Bristol County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Bristol County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Massachusetts

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

148

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

13K

13,227 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).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

99.4cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

59%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

THREEMILE RIVER AT NORTH DIGHTON, MA

USGS site: 01109060
Drainage area: 84.3 sq mi
Long-term mean: 167 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 Bristol 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 Bristol County, Massachusetts?

Bristol County, Massachusetts has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 60.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 39 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 Bristol County?

Bristol County has 39 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 much water-quality monitoring happens in Bristol County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 13,227 measurements from 148 monitoring sites in Bristol County 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.

What's happening with rivers in Bristol County right now?

Bristol County's primary USGS streamgage on the THREEMILE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 99.4 cubic feet per second — 59% of the long-term mean of 167.28 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 Bristol County water compare to the Massachusetts average?

Bristol County's SDWIS water quality score of 60.4/100 is lower than the Massachusetts state average of 69.1. The average water quality grade across Massachusetts is C, based on data from 14 counties with available SDWIS data.

Is tap water safe to drink in Bristol County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Bristol County has a water quality grade of C (60.4/100). 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).

Why does Bristol County have so many water violations?

Bristol County has 39 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 Bristol County rank for water quality in Massachusetts?

Bristol County ranks #13 out of 14 counties in Massachusetts by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 60.4/100, 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

Berkshire County

Massachusetts

60.6

Water score

Worcester County

Massachusetts

63.5

Water score

Norfolk County

Massachusetts

63.8

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.

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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