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County water report

Otter Tail County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

12.0

State rank

#85

of 87

Health violations

71

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

4 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

462

62,346 recent measurements

Live streamflow

119%

OTTER TAIL RIVER BL ORWELL D NR FERGUS FALLS, MN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Otter Tail County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 12.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

71

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

4 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

119% of mean

OTTER TAIL RIVER BL ORWELL D NR FERGUS FALLS, MN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

462

62,346 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

F

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

12.0/100

Health violations

71

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

267.9

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Otter Tail County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Otter Tail County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 12.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 71 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). None of the assessed waterways are listed as impaired (0 of 4 water bodies) across Otter Tail 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 2026-05-14T13:15:00.000-05:00) puts OTTER TAIL RIVER BL ORWELL D at 529.0 cfs — flowing above its historical average at 119% 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. Otter Tail County has extensive coverage with 462 active monitoring sites with 62,346 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and organics, pesticide. 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 Otter Tail County

Water Verdict

Otter Tail County, Minnesota receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 12.0 out of 100. The water supply has documented quality issues. Residents are strongly encouraged to use filtered or bottled water for drinking and to stay informed about utility improvement plans. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments track 4 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 running above its historical mean at 119.0%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Otter Tail County, Minnesota show 71 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 267.9 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 62,346 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Otter Tail County has a Grade F compliance record with 71 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Otter Tail County's drinking-water compliance score is 12.0 out of 100. Residents are strongly advised to use a certified NSF 58 reverse-osmosis filter or bottled water for all drinking and cooking until violations are corrected. Contacting the Minnesota Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. With 462 active water-quality monitoring sites in Otter Tail County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the OTTER TAIL RIVER BL ORWELL D gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Otter Tail County has poorer water quality than the average county in Minnesota. Its water score is 55.2 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 Otter Tail County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Otter Tail County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Otter Tail County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Otter Tail County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Minnesota

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 4 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

462

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

62K

62,346 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Organics, Pesticide
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals

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

529cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

119%

Above typical

Primary Streamgage

OTTER TAIL RIVER BL ORWELL D NR FERGUS FALLS, MN

USGS site
05046000
Drainage area
1,740 sq mi
Long-term mean
445 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 Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County, Minnesota?
Otter Tail County, Minnesota has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 12.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 71 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 Otter Tail County?
Otter Tail County has 71 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 Otter Tail County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Otter Tail County's 4 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 Otter Tail County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 62,346 measurements from 462 monitoring sites in Otter Tail County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Organics, Pesticide, Inorganics, Minor, Metals. 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 Otter Tail County right now?
Otter Tail County's primary USGS streamgage on the OTTER TAIL RIVER BL ORWELL D has a pipeline snapshot of 529 cubic feet per second — 119% of the long-term mean of 444.72 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Otter Tail County water compare to the Minnesota average?
Otter Tail County's SDWIS water quality score of 12.0/100 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 Otter Tail County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Otter Tail County has a water quality grade of F (12.0/100). This indicates below-average compliance with significant violations. Residents may want to consider home water filtration or independent testing. 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 Otter Tail County have so many water violations?
Otter Tail County has 71 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 Otter Tail County rank for water quality in Minnesota?
Otter Tail County ranks #85 out of 87 counties in Minnesota by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 12.0/100, 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

Traverse County

Minnesota

F

16.0

Water score

Grant County

Minnesota

F

16.4

Water score

Roseau County

Minnesota

F

7.4

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 Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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