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County water report

Elko County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Elko County, Nevada.

Water grade

A

Water score

86.0

State rank

#1

of 16

Health violations

0

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

1 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

53

11,509 recent measurements

Live streamflow

38%

HUMBOLDT RV NR CARLIN, NV

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Elko County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

A

Score: 86.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

0

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

1 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

38% of mean

HUMBOLDT RV NR CARLIN, NV

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

53

11,509 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

A

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

86.0/100

Health violations

0

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

0.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Elko County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Elko County earns an A grade for drinking water quality, scoring 86.0 out of 100. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) records zero health-based violations over the past five years — a strong compliance signal for a mid-sized county.

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 1 water bodies) across Elko County's watersheds. 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 2026-05-14T11:55:00.000-07:00) puts HUMBOLDT RV at 135.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 38% 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. Elko County has extensive coverage with 53 active monitoring sites with 11,509 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include inorganics, minor, metals 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 Elko County

Water Verdict

Elko County receives an excellent water quality assessment with a grade of A and a score of 86.0 out of 100. The water supply meets or exceeds federal safety standards, and residents can generally drink tap water with confidence.

Violation Context

Elko County has recorded zero health-based violations, indicating no recent health-based violations in the reporting period. The violation rate is zero per 100,000 people served, which is the best possible outcome.

Consumer Guidance

The EPA compliance record for Elko County shows no recent health-based violations. No health-based violations have been recorded, placing Elko County in the top tier for drinking-water safety. Elko County's drinking-water compliance score is 86.0 out of 100. As a routine precaution, requesting your utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report each July gives you a full list of detected contaminants and their treatment levels. With 53 active water-quality monitoring sites in Elko County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the HUMBOLDT RV gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Elko County has better water quality than the average county in Nevada. Its water score is 37.5 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.

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 1 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

53

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

12K

11,509 total readings

Most Measured

  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Physical
  • 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

135cfs

May 14, 6:55 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

38%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

HUMBOLDT RV NR CARLIN, NV

USGS site
10321000
Drainage area
4,310 sq mi
Long-term mean
357 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.

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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 Elko County:B — Good

Minor violations; waterways mostly healthy.

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.

Try the full calculator →

Elko County has good water quality

Learn about water restrictions and conservation in your area.

Water Restrictions →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Elko County, Nevada?
Elko County, Nevada has a drinking-water quality grade of A with a score of 86.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 0 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 Elko County?
Elko County has 0 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). Zero violations is an excellent record indicating consistent compliance with federal drinking water standards.
How healthy are the watersheds in Elko County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Elko County's 1 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 Elko County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 11,509 measurements from 53 monitoring sites in Elko County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Physical, 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 Elko County right now?
Elko County's primary USGS streamgage on the HUMBOLDT RV has a pipeline snapshot of 135 cubic feet per second — 38% of the long-term mean of 356.84 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 Elko County water compare to the Nevada average?
Elko County's SDWIS water quality score of 86.0/100 is higher than the Nevada state average of 48.5. The average water quality grade across Nevada is D, based on data from 16 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Elko County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Elko County has a water quality grade of A (86.0/100). This indicates good to excellent water quality with strong SDWIS compliance. 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 Elko County have clean drinking water?
Elko County has 0 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 86.0/100 and grade A, the county's drinking water meets EPA standards with no recorded health violations. 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 Elko County rank for water quality in Nevada?
Elko County ranks #1 out of 16 counties in Nevada by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 86.0/100, it falls in the top 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

Lincoln County

Nevada

A

86.0

Water score

Pershing County

Nevada

A

86.0

Water score

Storey County

Nevada

A

86.0

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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