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County water report

Adams County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Adams County, Ohio.

Water grade

C

Water score

60.1

State rank

#46

of 88

Health violations

2

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

3 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

2

656 recent measurements

Live streamflow

13%

Ohio Brush Creek near West Union OH

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Adams County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 60.1 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

2

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

3 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

13% of mean

Ohio Brush Creek near West Union OH

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

2

656 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.

60.1/100

Health violations

2

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

6.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Adams County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Adams County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 60.1 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). None of the assessed waterways are listed as impaired (0 of 3 water bodies) across Adams 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 2026-05-14T14:00:00.000-04:00) puts Ohio Brush Creek at 58.5 cfs — well below its long-term average at 13% 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. Adams County has limited coverage with 2 active monitoring sites with 656 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include organics, pesticide and organics, other. 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 Adams County

Water Verdict

Adams County, Ohio receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 60.1 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments track 3 water bodies in the county's watershed, none of which are currently listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 12.5% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Adams County, Ohio show 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 6.3 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges. Independent monitoring is comparatively sparse here — 656 water-quality results logged in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years — so the utility's own reporting carries extra weight.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Adams County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Adams County's drinking-water compliance score is 60.1 out of 100. The violation rate for Adams County is 6.3 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. There are 2 active water-quality monitoring sites in Adams County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Ohio Brush Creek gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Adams County has water quality close to the average county in Ohio. Its water score is within 3.9 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Ohio 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 Adams County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Adams County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Adams County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Adams County

Consumer Confidence Reports (OH)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Ohio

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 3 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

2

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

656

656 total readings

Most Measured

  • Organics, Pesticide
  • Organics, Other
  • Physical

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

58.5cfs

May 14, 6:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

13%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Ohio Brush Creek near West Union OH

USGS site
03237500
Drainage area
387 sq mi
Long-term mean
468 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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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 Adams 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 Adams County, Ohio?
Adams County, Ohio has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 60.1/100, 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 Adams County?
Adams 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 Adams County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Adams County's 3 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 Adams County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 656 measurements from 2 monitoring sites in Adams County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Organics, Pesticide, Organics, Other, Physical. 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 Adams County right now?
Adams County's primary USGS streamgage on the Ohio Brush Creek has a pipeline snapshot of 58.5 cubic feet per second — 13% of the long-term mean of 468.02 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 Adams County water compare to the Ohio average?
Adams County's SDWIS water quality score of 60.1/100 is higher than the Ohio state average of 56.2. The average water quality grade across Ohio is D, based on data from 88 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Adams County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Adams County has a water quality grade of C (60.1/100). 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 Adams County have clean drinking water?
Adams County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 60.1/100 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 Adams County rank for water quality in Ohio?
Adams County ranks #46 out of 88 counties in Ohio by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 60.1/100, 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

Auglaize County

Ohio

C

59.8

Water score

Huron County

Ohio

C

60.6

Water score

Allen County

Ohio

C

60.8

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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