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Federal water data

County water report

Catawba County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Catawba County, North Carolina.

Water grade

B

Water score

63.8

State rank

#31

of 100

Health violations

6

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

11

1,532 recent measurements

Live streamflow

22%

HENRY FORK NEAR HENRY RIVER, NC

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Catawba County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 63.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

6

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

22% of mean

HENRY FORK NEAR HENRY RIVER, NC

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

11

1,532 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

B

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

63.8/100

Health violations

6

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

4.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Catawba County has 8 facilities in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #63 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSIThe Data Center Water Stress Index: 60% the county's water-system stress plus 40% how concentrated data centers already are, scored 0-100. Higher means data-center density and water pressure overlap more here.

71.6

0-100 index

Facility count

8

83.3 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+13.8

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Microsoft

Mapped facilities

  • Apple - Maiden Data Center

    Facility details limited

    OSM

  • APPLE INC.

    MAIDEN

    EPA ECHO

  • CLT17 STOVER DATA CENTER

    NEWTON

    EPA ECHO

  • MICROSOFT CORPORATION, CLT04

    CONOVER · Microsoft

    EPA ECHO

  • MICROSOFT CORPORATION, CLT10

    MAIDEN · Microsoft

    EPA ECHO

  • OpenStreetMap data center 116005354

    Facility details limited

    OSM

2 more mapped facilities included in the county score.

See the Catawba County data-center reportReview methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

Estimate daily water use for a hypothetical facility in Catawba County.

1 MW1,000 MW
40%100%
799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 21.2% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

21.2% of county industrial baseline2.97 Mgal/day remaining headroom

Based on USGS 2020 water-use data and EPA-standard cooling intensity constants. Not a substitute for site-specific water rights analysis.

Editorial analysis

Understanding Catawba County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Catawba County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 63.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 6 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 2026-05-14T14:30:00.000-04:00) puts HENRY FORK at 29.3 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. Catawba County has moderate coverage with 11 active monitoring sites with 1,532 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 Catawba County

Water Verdict

Catawba County, North Carolina receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 63.8 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring. The county's primary USGS gauge drains roughly 83 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 22.2% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Catawba County, North Carolina show 6 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 4.3 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges. For independent context, 1,532 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Catawba County meets baseline safety standards, though the compliance record shows some violations worth watching. Catawba County's drinking-water compliance score is 63.8 out of 100. The violation rate for Catawba County is 4.3 per 100,000 people served. Running tap water for 30 seconds before drinking can reduce any localized lead exposure from household plumbing. Requesting your utility's most recent Consumer Confidence Report is the fastest way to identify which specific contaminants were flagged. With 11 active water-quality monitoring sites in Catawba County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the HENRY FORK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Catawba County has better water quality than the average county in North Carolina. Its water score is 10.8 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 Catawba County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Catawba County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Catawba County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Catawba County

Consumer Confidence Reports (NC)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in North Carolina

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

11

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

1.5K

1,532 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Microbiological

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

29.3cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

22%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

HENRY FORK NEAR HENRY RIVER, NC

USGS site
02143000
Drainage area
83.2 sq mi
Long-term mean
132 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 Catawba 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 Catawba County, North Carolina?
Catawba County, North Carolina has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 63.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 6 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 Catawba County?
Catawba County has 6 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 Catawba County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 1,532 measurements from 11 monitoring sites in Catawba County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Microbiological. 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 Catawba County right now?
Catawba County's primary USGS streamgage on the HENRY FORK has a pipeline snapshot of 29.3 cubic feet per second — 22% of the long-term mean of 132.04 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 Catawba County water compare to the North Carolina average?
Catawba County's SDWIS water quality score of 63.8/100 is higher than the North Carolina state average of 53.0. The average water quality grade across North Carolina is D, based on data from 100 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Catawba County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Catawba County has a water quality grade of B (63.8/100). 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).
Why does Catawba County have so many water violations?
Catawba County has 6 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 Catawba County rank for water quality in North Carolina?
Catawba County ranks #31 out of 100 counties in North Carolina by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 63.8/100, 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

Beaufort County

North Carolina

B

64.2

Water score

Wayne County

North Carolina

B

64.2

Water score

Iredell County

North Carolina

B

64.6

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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