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County water report

Mower County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Mower County, Minnesota.

Water grade

C

Water score

53.0

State rank

#64

of 87

Health violations

4

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

35

22,540 recent measurements

Live streamflow

60%

CEDAR RIVER NEAR AUSTIN, MN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Mower County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 53.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

4

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

60% of mean

CEDAR RIVER NEAR AUSTIN, MN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

35

22,540 recent readings

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.

53.0/100

Health violations

4

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

12.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Mower County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Mower County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 53.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 4 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 2026-05-14T14:00:00.000-05:00) puts CEDAR RIVER at 167.0 cfs — running somewhat below its historical average at 60% of mean. 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. Mower County has moderate coverage with 35 active monitoring sites with 22,540 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 Mower County

Water Verdict

Mower County receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 53.0 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking.

Violation Context

Mower County has recorded 4 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 12.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Mower County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Mower County's drinking-water compliance score is 53.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Mower County is 12.4 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 35 active water-quality monitoring sites in Mower County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the CEDAR RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Mower County has poorer water quality than the average county in Minnesota. Its water score is 14.2 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 Mower County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Mower County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Mower County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Mower County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Minnesota

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

35

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

23K

22,540 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

167cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

60%

Below typical

Primary Streamgage

CEDAR RIVER NEAR AUSTIN, MN

USGS site
05457000
Drainage area
399 sq mi
Long-term mean
277 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

3

3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Mower County:D — Poor

Elevated violations or significant watershed impairment.

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 Mower County, Minnesota?
Mower County, Minnesota has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 53.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 4 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 Mower County?
Mower County has 4 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 Mower County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 22,540 measurements from 35 monitoring sites in Mower 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 Mower County right now?
Mower County's primary USGS streamgage on the CEDAR RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 167 cubic feet per second — 60% of the long-term mean of 277.49 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Mower County water compare to the Minnesota average?
Mower County's SDWIS water quality score of 53.0/100 is lower than the Minnesota state average of 67.2. The average water quality grade across Minnesota is C, based on data from 87 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Mower County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Mower County has a water quality grade of C (53.0/100). 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 Mower County have clean drinking water?
Mower County has 4 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 53.0/100 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 Mower County rank for water quality in Minnesota?
Mower County ranks #64 out of 87 counties in Minnesota by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 53.0/100, 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

Martin County

Minnesota

C

52.3

Water score

Blue Earth County

Minnesota

C

54.4

Water score

Pennington County

Minnesota

C

54.5

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 Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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