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Federal water data

County water report

Seward County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

30.4

State rank

#67

of 90

Health violations

8

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

81.8%

11 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

12

4,226 recent measurements

Live streamflow

22%

West Fork Big Blue River near Dorchester, Nebr.

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Seward County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 30.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

8

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

82% impaired

11 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

22% of mean

West Fork Big Blue River near Dorchester, Nebr.

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

12

4,226 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.

30.4/100

Health violations

8

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

64.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Seward County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Seward County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 30.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 8 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

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 — 81.8% — of assessed waterways are impaired (9 of 11 water bodies) across Seward County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and cause unknown. 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 West Fork Big Blue River at 36.8 cfs — well below its long-term average at 22% 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. Seward County has moderate coverage with 12 active monitoring sites with 4,226 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 Seward County

Water Verdict

Seward County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 30.4 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.

Violation Context

Seward County has recorded 8 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 64.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Seward County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Seward County's drinking-water compliance score is 30.4 out of 100. The violation rate for Seward County is 64.6 per 100,000 people served. 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. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Seward County's watershed. With 12 active water-quality monitoring sites in Seward County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the West Fork Big Blue River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Seward County has poorer water quality than the average county in Nebraska. Its water score is 27.7 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 Seward County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 2

    Cause Unknown

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

  • 3

    Atrazine

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Seward County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Seward County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Seward County

Consumer Confidence Reports (NE)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Nebraska

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

81.8%

9 of 11 assessed

High concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    CAUSE UNKNOWN

  • 3

    ATRAZINE

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

12

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

4.2K

4,226 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

36.8cfs

May 14, 6:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

22%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

West Fork Big Blue River near Dorchester, Nebr.

USGS site
06880800
Drainage area
1,192 sq mi
Long-term mean
169 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 Seward 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 Seward County, Nebraska?
Seward County, Nebraska has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 30.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 8 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 Seward County?
Seward County has 8 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 Seward County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 81.8% of Seward County's 11 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (9 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), CAUSE UNKNOWN, ATRAZINE. 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 Seward County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 4,226 measurements from 12 monitoring sites in Seward 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 Seward County right now?
Seward County's primary USGS streamgage on the West Fork Big Blue River has a pipeline snapshot of 36.8 cubic feet per second — 22% of the long-term mean of 168.71 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 Seward County water compare to the Nebraska average?
Seward County's SDWIS water quality score of 30.4/100 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 Seward County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Seward County has a water quality grade of F (30.4/100). 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 Seward County have so many water violations?
Seward County has 8 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 Seward County rank for water quality in Nebraska?
Seward County ranks #67 out of 90 counties in Nebraska by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 30.4/100, 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

Frontier County

Nebraska

F

30.1

Water score

Johnson County

Nebraska

F

29.7

Water score

Hitchcock County

Nebraska

F

31.1

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.

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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