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Federal water data

County water report

Dawson County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Dawson County, Nebraska.

Water grade

C

Water score

55.0

State rank

#52

of 90

Health violations

2

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

72.7%

11 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

3

1,650 recent measurements

Live streamflow

6%

Platte River near Overton, Nebr.

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Dawson County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 55.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

2

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

73% impaired

11 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

6% of mean

Platte River near Overton, Nebr.

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

3

1,650 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.

55.0/100

Health violations

2

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

10.5

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Dawson County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Dawson County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 55.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 2 health-based violations — a small cluster that warrants attention.

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). A large majority — 72.7% — of assessed waterways are impaired (8 of 11 water bodies) across Dawson County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are mercury in fish tissue and escherichia coli (e. coli). Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T13:00:00.000-05:00) puts Platte River at 89.6 cfs — well below its long-term average at 6% 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. Dawson County has limited coverage with 3 active monitoring sites with 1,650 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 Dawson County

Water Verdict

Dawson County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 55.0 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Dawson County has recorded 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 10.5 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Dawson County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Dawson County's drinking-water compliance score is 55.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Dawson County is 10.5 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. Mercury in Fish Tissue is the leading impairment cause in Dawson County's watershed. There are 3 active water-quality monitoring sites in Dawson County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Platte River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Dawson County has water quality close to the average county in Nebraska. Its water score is within 3.1 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Nebraska 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 Dawson County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Mercury (fish tissue)

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 2

    E. coli (bacteria)

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 3

    Cause Unknown

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Dawson County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Dawson County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Dawson County

Consumer Confidence Reports (NE)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Nebraska

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

72.7%

8 of 11 assessed

High concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    MERCURY IN FISH TISSUE

  • 2

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 3

    CAUSE UNKNOWN

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

3

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

1.6K

1,650 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Habitat

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

89.6cfs

May 14, 6:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

6%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Platte River near Overton, Nebr.

USGS site
06768000
Drainage area
56,300 sq mi
Long-term mean
1,570 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 Dawson 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 Dawson County, Nebraska?
Dawson County, Nebraska has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 55.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 2 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 Dawson County?
Dawson County has 2 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 healthy are the watersheds in Dawson County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 72.7% of Dawson County's 11 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (8 impaired). The top reported causes are MERCURY IN FISH TISSUE, ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), CAUSE UNKNOWN. 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 Dawson County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 1,650 measurements from 3 monitoring sites in Dawson County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Habitat. 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 Dawson County right now?
Dawson County's primary USGS streamgage on the Platte River has a pipeline snapshot of 89.6 cubic feet per second — 6% of the long-term mean of 1,570.02 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 Dawson County water compare to the Nebraska average?
Dawson County's SDWIS water quality score of 55.0/100 is lower than the Nebraska state average of 58.1. The average water quality grade across Nebraska is D, based on data from 90 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Dawson County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Dawson County has a water quality grade of C (55.0/100). 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 Dawson County have clean drinking water?
Dawson County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 55.0/100 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 Dawson County rank for water quality in Nebraska?
Dawson County ranks #52 out of 90 counties in Nebraska by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 55.0/100, 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

Dodge County

Nebraska

C

56.3

Water score

Sarpy County

Nebraska

C

58.0

Water score

Hall County

Nebraska

C

61.4

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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