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County water report

Lafayette County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

53.2

State rank

#45

of 82

Health violations

9

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

9

215 recent measurements

Live streamflow

16%

YOCONA RIVER NR OXFORD, MS

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Lafayette County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 53.2 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

9

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

16% of mean

YOCONA RIVER NR OXFORD, MS

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

9

215 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.

53.2/100

Health violations

9

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

12.2

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Lafayette County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Lafayette County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 53.2 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 9 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 2026-05-14T13:15:00.000-05:00) puts YOCONA RIVER at 60.9 cfs — well below its long-term average at 16% 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. Lafayette County has limited coverage with 9 active monitoring sites with 215 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 Lafayette County

Water Verdict

Lafayette County receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 53.2 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking.

Violation Context

Lafayette County has recorded 9 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 12.2 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Lafayette County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Lafayette County's drinking-water compliance score is 53.2 out of 100. The violation rate for Lafayette County is 12.2 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. There are 9 active water-quality monitoring sites in Lafayette County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the YOCONA RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Lafayette County has water quality close to the average county in Mississippi. Its water score is within 1.5 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Mississippi as a whole.

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 Lafayette County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Lafayette County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Lafayette County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Lafayette County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MS)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Mississippi

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

9

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

215

215 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Inorganics, Major, Non-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

60.9cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

16%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

YOCONA RIVER NR OXFORD, MS

USGS site
07274000
Drainage area
262 sq mi
Long-term mean
377 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 Lafayette 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 Lafayette County, Mississippi?
Lafayette County, Mississippi has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 53.2/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 9 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 Lafayette County?
Lafayette County has 9 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 Lafayette County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 215 measurements from 9 monitoring sites in Lafayette County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Inorganics, Major, Non-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 Lafayette County right now?
Lafayette County's primary USGS streamgage on the YOCONA RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 60.9 cubic feet per second — 16% of the long-term mean of 376.53 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 Lafayette County water compare to the Mississippi average?
Lafayette County's SDWIS water quality score of 53.2/100 is higher 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 Lafayette County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Lafayette County has a water quality grade of C (53.2/100). 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 Lafayette County have so many water violations?
Lafayette County has 9 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 Lafayette County rank for water quality in Mississippi?
Lafayette County ranks #45 out of 82 counties in Mississippi by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 53.2/100, it falls in the middle 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

Warren County

Mississippi

C

52.9

Water score

Jefferson County

Mississippi

C

53.6

Water score

Union County

Mississippi

C

54.1

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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