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County water report

New Madrid County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

20.3

State rank

#94

of 115

Health violations

19

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

12

3,867 recent measurements

Live streamflow

91%

Mississippi River at New Madrid, MO

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for New Madrid County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 20.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

19

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

91% of mean

Mississippi River at New Madrid, MO

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

12

3,867 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.

20.3/100

Health violations

19

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

129.1

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding New Madrid County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

New Madrid County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 20.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 19 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 2026-05-14T14:00:00.000-05:00) puts Mississippi River at 522.0k cfs — near its historical average at 91% of mean flow. 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. New Madrid County has moderate coverage with 12 active monitoring sites with 3,867 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include organics, pesticide and physical. 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 New Madrid County

Water Verdict

New Madrid County, Missouri receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 20.3 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. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was tracking near its historical mean (90.9%).

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for New Madrid County, Missouri show 19 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 129.1 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 3,867 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in New Madrid County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. New Madrid County's drinking-water compliance score is 20.3 out of 100. An NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter is recommended for drinking and cooking water. Check the Consumer Confidence Report from your utility to identify the specific contaminants and required corrective actions — utilities are legally required to notify customers of violations. With 12 active water-quality monitoring sites in New Madrid County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Mississippi River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

New Madrid County has poorer water quality than the average county in Missouri. Its water score is 28.5 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 New Madrid County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for New Madrid County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for New Madrid County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for New Madrid County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MO)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Missouri

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

12

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

3.9K

3,867 total readings

Most Measured

  • Organics, Pesticide
  • Physical
  • 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).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

522.0Kcfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

91%

Near typical

Primary Streamgage

Mississippi River at New Madrid, MO

USGS site
07024175
Long-term mean
574.2K 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 New Madrid 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 New Madrid County, Missouri?
New Madrid County, Missouri has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 20.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 19 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 New Madrid County?
New Madrid County has 19 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 New Madrid County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 3,867 measurements from 12 monitoring sites in New Madrid County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Organics, Pesticide, Physical, 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.
What's happening with rivers in New Madrid County right now?
New Madrid County's primary USGS streamgage on the Mississippi River has a pipeline snapshot of 522,000 cubic feet per second — 91% of the long-term mean of 574,200 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does New Madrid County water compare to the Missouri average?
New Madrid County's SDWIS water quality score of 20.3/100 is lower 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 New Madrid County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, New Madrid County has a water quality grade of F (20.3/100). 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 New Madrid County have so many water violations?
New Madrid County has 19 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 New Madrid County rank for water quality in Missouri?
New Madrid County ranks #94 out of 115 counties in Missouri by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 20.3/100, 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

Ralls County

Missouri

F

19.9

Water score

Ste. Genevieve County

Missouri

F

19.9

Water score

Cedar County

Missouri

F

19.2

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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