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County water report

Ravalli County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Ravalli County, Montana.

Water grade

C

Water score

56.9

State rank

#23

of 55

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

39 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

73

14,150 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

Bitterroot River at Bell Crossing nr Victor MT

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Ravalli County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 56.9 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

39 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

Bitterroot River at Bell Crossing nr Victor MT

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

73

14,150 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.

56.9/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

8.9

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Ravalli County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Ravalli County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 56.9 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 1 health-based violation — a single incident worth monitoring.

Watershed Conditions

EPA ATTAINS

Under the Clean Water Act §303(d), EPA ATTAINS tracks whether waterways meet quality standards for drinking, recreation, and aquatic life (reporting cycle: 2022). None of the assessed waterways are listed as impaired (0 of 39 water bodies) across Ravalli County's watersheds. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Ravalli County has extensive coverage with 73 active monitoring sites with 14,150 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 Ravalli County

Water Verdict

Ravalli County, Montana receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 56.9 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments track 39 water bodies in the county's watershed, none of which are currently listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Ravalli County, Montana show 1 health-based violation, meaning a water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 8.9 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: 14,150 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 Ravalli County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Ravalli County's drinking-water compliance score is 56.9 out of 100. The violation rate for Ravalli County is 8.9 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 73 active water-quality monitoring sites in Ravalli County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Bitterroot River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Ravalli County has better water quality than the average county in Montana. Its water score is 8 points higher than the state average, indicating stronger water system performance relative to 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 Ravalli County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Ravalli County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Ravalli County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Ravalli County

Consumer Confidence Reports (MT)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Montana

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 39 assessed

Mostly healthy

Top Impairment Causes

No specific impairment causes reported for the assessed water bodies in this county.

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Impairment is determined under the Clean Water Act §303(d): a water body is impaired when it fails to meet state-defined quality standards for designated uses (drinking, recreation, aquatic life). Assessment coverage varies by state; counties without assessed water bodies are not shown.

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

73

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

14K

14,150 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Biological, Algae, Phytoplankton

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

8,990cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

Long-term average not yet available.

Primary Streamgage

Bitterroot River at Bell Crossing nr Victor MT

USGS site
12350250
Drainage area
1,944 sq mi

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 Ravalli County:C — Moderate

Some violations or watershed impairment detected.

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 Ravalli County, Montana?
Ravalli County, Montana has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 56.9/100, 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 Ravalli County?
Ravalli 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 healthy are the watersheds in Ravalli County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Ravalli County's 39 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (0 impaired). Impairment means the water body fails to meet state quality standards for at least one designated use — drinking water source, recreation, aquatic life, or fish consumption. Note: watershed impairment doesn't always translate to tap-water issues; treatment plants can remove most regulated contaminants.
How much water-quality monitoring happens in Ravalli County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 14,150 measurements from 73 monitoring sites in Ravalli County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Biological, Algae, Phytoplankton. 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 Ravalli County right now?
Ravalli County's primary USGS streamgage on the Bitterroot River has a pipeline snapshot of 8,990 cubic feet per second. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Ravalli County water compare to the Montana average?
Ravalli County's SDWIS water quality score of 56.9/100 is higher than the Montana state average of 48.9. The average water quality grade across Montana is D, based on data from 55 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Ravalli County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Ravalli County has a water quality grade of C (56.9/100). 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 Ravalli County have clean drinking water?
Ravalli County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 56.9/100 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 Ravalli County rank for water quality in Montana?
Ravalli County ranks #23 out of 55 counties in Montana by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 56.9/100, 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

Flathead County

Montana

C

55.0

Water score

Cascade County

Montana

C

54.3

Water score

Gallatin County

Montana

C

54.3

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.

Watershed health and impaired-waterway data from the EPA ATTAINS Clean Water Act §303(d) assessments, state-reported and EPA-finalized.

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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