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County water report

Butler County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Butler County, Missouri.

Water grade

D

Water score

49.5

State rank

#47

of 115

Health violations

6

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

6

1,718 recent measurements

Live streamflow

50%

Black River at Poplar Bluff, MO

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Butler County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

D

Score: 49.5 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

6

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

50% of mean

Black River at Poplar Bluff, MO

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

6

1,718 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

D

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

49.5/100

Health violations

6

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

17.2

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Butler County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Butler County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 49.5 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 6 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 Black River at 719.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 50% 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. Butler County has limited coverage with 6 active monitoring sites with 1,718 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 Butler County

Water Verdict

Butler County, Missouri receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 49.5 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 1,245 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 49.5% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Butler County, Missouri show 6 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 17.2 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 1,718 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Butler County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Butler County's drinking-water compliance score is 49.5 out of 100. The violation rate for Butler County is 17.2 per 100,000 people served. Residents are encouraged to use an NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter for drinking and cooking water until the underlying violations are resolved. Running tap water for 30 seconds before use and avoiding older lead-pipe connections can also reduce exposure risk. The current Consumer Confidence Report from your utility will specify the contaminants of concern. There are 6 active water-quality monitoring sites in Butler County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Black River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Butler County has water quality close to the average county in Missouri. Its water score is within 0.7 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Missouri 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 Butler County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Butler County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Butler County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Butler County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MO)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Missouri

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

6

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

1.7K

1,718 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

719cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

50%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Black River at Poplar Bluff, MO

USGS site
07063000
Drainage area
1,245 sq mi
Long-term mean
1,454 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 Butler 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 Butler County, Missouri?
Butler County, Missouri has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 49.5/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 6 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 Butler County?
Butler County has 6 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 Butler County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 1,718 measurements from 6 monitoring sites in Butler 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 Butler County right now?
Butler County's primary USGS streamgage on the Black River has a pipeline snapshot of 719 cubic feet per second — 50% of the long-term mean of 1,453.78 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 Butler County water compare to the Missouri average?
Butler County's SDWIS water quality score of 49.5/100 is higher than the Missouri state average of 48.8. The average water quality grade across Missouri is D, based on data from 115 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Butler County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Butler County has a water quality grade of D (49.5/100). 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 Butler County have so many water violations?
Butler County has 6 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 Butler County rank for water quality in Missouri?
Butler County ranks #47 out of 115 counties in Missouri by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 49.5/100, 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

Phelps County

Missouri

D

49.5

Water score

Camden County

Missouri

D

49.9

Water score

Warren County

Missouri

D

50.3

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 Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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