County water report

Hinds County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Hinds County, Mississippi.

Water grade

Water score

31.0

State rank

#67

of 82

Health violations

172

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

1,606 recent measurements

Live streamflow

62%

PEARL RIVER AT HWY 25 AT JACKSON, MS

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Hinds County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 31.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

172

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

62% of mean

PEARL RIVER AT HWY 25 AT JACKSON, MS

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

1,606 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.

31.0/100

Health violations

172

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

61.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Hinds County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #2125 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

18.6

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-19.0

Compared with US county median

Mapped facilities

NASA SHARED SERVICE CENTER, NCCIPS
STENNIS SPAC
EPA ECHO

See the Hinds County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 133.4% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

133.4% of county industrial baseline

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 Hinds County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Hinds County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 31.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 172 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 2026-05-14T13:30:00.000-05:00) puts PEARL RIVER at 2.8k cfs — running somewhat below its historical average at 62% 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. Hinds County has moderate coverage with 10 active monitoring sites with 1,606 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and nutrient. 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 Hinds County

Water Verdict

Hinds County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 31.0 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.

Violation Context

Hinds County has recorded 172 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 61.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Hinds County has a Grade F compliance record with 172 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Hinds County's drinking-water compliance score is 31.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Hinds County is 61.6 per 100,000 people served. 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 Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. There are 10 active water-quality monitoring sites in Hinds County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the PEARL RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Hinds County has poorer water quality than the average county in Mississippi. Its water score is 20.7 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 Hinds County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Hinds County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Hinds County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Hinds County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MS)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Mississippi

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

1.6K

1,606 total readings

Most Measured

Physical
Nutrient
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

2,820cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

62%

Below typical

Primary Streamgage

PEARL RIVER AT HWY 25 AT JACKSON, MS

USGS site: 02485735
Drainage area: 3,130 sq mi
Long-term mean: 4,551 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 Hinds County:F — Failing

High violation count or severe watershed conditions.

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 Hinds County, Mississippi?

Hinds County, Mississippi has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 31.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 172 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 Hinds County?

Hinds County has 172 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 Hinds County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 1,606 measurements from 10 monitoring sites in Hinds County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, 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 Hinds County right now?

Hinds County's primary USGS streamgage on the PEARL RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 2,820 cubic feet per second — 62% of the long-term mean of 4,550.5 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.

How does Hinds County water compare to the Mississippi average?

Hinds County's SDWIS water quality score of 31.0/100 is lower than the Mississippi state average of 51.7. The average water quality grade across Mississippi is D, based on data from 82 counties with available SDWIS data.

Is tap water safe to drink in Hinds County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Hinds County has a water quality grade of F (31.0/100). 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 Hinds County have so many water violations?

Hinds County has 172 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 Hinds County rank for water quality in Mississippi?

Hinds County ranks #67 out of 82 counties in Mississippi by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 31.0/100, 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

Montgomery County

Mississippi

31.6

Water score

Noxubee County

Mississippi

33.1

Water score

Bolivar County

Mississippi

28.3

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.

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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