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County water report

Pennington County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

54.5

State rank

#62

of 87

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

37

11,063 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

RED LAKE RIVER AT THIEF RIVER FALLS, MN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Pennington County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 54.5 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

RED LAKE RIVER AT THIEF RIVER FALLS, MN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

37

11,063 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.

54.5/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

10.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Pennington County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Pennington County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 54.5 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 1 health-based violation — a single incident worth monitoring.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Pennington County has moderate coverage with 37 active monitoring sites with 11,063 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 Pennington County

Water Verdict

Pennington County, Minnesota receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 54.5 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. The county's primary USGS gauge drains roughly 3,450 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Pennington County, Minnesota show 1 health-based violation, meaning a water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 10.8 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: 11,063 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 Pennington County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Pennington County's drinking-water compliance score is 54.5 out of 100. The violation rate for Pennington County is 10.8 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 37 active water-quality monitoring sites in Pennington County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the RED LAKE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Pennington County has poorer water quality than the average county in Minnesota. Its water score is 12.7 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 Pennington County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Pennington County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Pennington County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Pennington County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Minnesota

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

37

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

11K

11,063 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Organics, Pesticide
  • 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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Filter Cost

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Safety Grade for Pennington 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 Pennington County, Minnesota?
Pennington County, Minnesota has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 54.5/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 1 health-based drinking water violation over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Pennington County?
Pennington County has 1 health-based drinking water violation 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 Pennington County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 11,063 measurements from 37 monitoring sites in Pennington County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Organics, Pesticide, 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 Pennington County water compare to the Minnesota average?
Pennington County's SDWIS water quality score of 54.5/100 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 Pennington County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Pennington County has a water quality grade of C (54.5/100). 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 Pennington County have clean drinking water?
Pennington County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 54.5/100 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 Pennington County rank for water quality in Minnesota?
Pennington County ranks #62 out of 87 counties in Minnesota by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 54.5/100, 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

Blue Earth County

Minnesota

C

54.4

Water score

Mower County

Minnesota

C

53.0

Water score

Martin County

Minnesota

C

52.3

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.

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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