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County water report

Wilkes County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

54.4

State rank

#46

of 100

Health violations

5

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

13

2,567 recent measurements

Live streamflow

40%

YADKIN RIVER AT WILKESBORO, NC

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Wilkes County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 54.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

40% of mean

YADKIN RIVER AT WILKESBORO, NC

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

13

2,567 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.

54.4/100

Health violations

5

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

10.9

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Wilkes County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Wilkes County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 54.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 5 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 2026-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00) puts YADKIN RIVER at 343.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 40% 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. Wilkes County has moderate coverage with 13 active monitoring sites with 2,567 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 Wilkes County

Water Verdict

Wilkes County, North Carolina receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 54.4 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. The county's primary USGS gauge drains roughly 504 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 40.4% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Wilkes County, North Carolina show 5 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 10.9 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 2,567 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 Wilkes County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Wilkes County's drinking-water compliance score is 54.4 out of 100. The violation rate for Wilkes County is 10.9 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 13 active water-quality monitoring sites in Wilkes County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the YADKIN RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Wilkes County has water quality close to the average county in North Carolina. Its water score is within 1.4 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of North Carolina 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 Wilkes County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Wilkes County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Wilkes County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Wilkes County

Consumer Confidence Reports (NC)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in North Carolina

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

13

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

2.6K

2,567 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Biological, Counts

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

343cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

40%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

YADKIN RIVER AT WILKESBORO, NC

USGS site
02112000
Drainage area
504 sq mi
Long-term mean
850 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 Wilkes 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 Wilkes County, North Carolina?
Wilkes County, North Carolina has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 54.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 5 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 Wilkes County?
Wilkes County has 5 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 Wilkes County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 2,567 measurements from 13 monitoring sites in Wilkes County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Biological, Counts. 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 Wilkes County right now?
Wilkes County's primary USGS streamgage on the YADKIN RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 343 cubic feet per second — 40% of the long-term mean of 849.5 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 Wilkes County water compare to the North Carolina average?
Wilkes County's SDWIS water quality score of 54.4/100 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 Wilkes County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Wilkes County has a water quality grade of C (54.4/100). 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 Wilkes County have clean drinking water?
Wilkes County has 5 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 54.4/100 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 Wilkes County rank for water quality in North Carolina?
Wilkes County ranks #46 out of 100 counties in North Carolina by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 54.4/100, 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

Stokes County

North Carolina

C

53.9

Water score

Chowan County

North Carolina

C

53.7

Water score

Carteret County

North Carolina

C

55.1

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.

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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