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County water report

Belmont County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

55.7

State rank

#51

of 88

Health violations

6

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

6 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

21

3,068 recent measurements

Live streamflow

24%

Captina Creek at S.R. 148 at Armstrongs Mills OH

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Belmont County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 55.7 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

6

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

6 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

24% of mean

Captina Creek at S.R. 148 at Armstrongs Mills OH

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

21

3,068 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.

55.7/100

Health violations

6

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

9.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Belmont County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Belmont County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 55.7 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.

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 6 water bodies) across Belmont 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 2026-05-14T14:15:00.000-04:00) puts Captina Creek at 43.9 cfs — well below its long-term average at 24% 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. Belmont County has moderate coverage with 21 active monitoring sites with 3,068 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and inorganics, minor, metals. 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 Belmont County

Water Verdict

Belmont County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 55.7 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Belmont County has recorded 6 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 9.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Belmont County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Belmont County's drinking-water compliance score is 55.7 out of 100. The violation rate for Belmont County is 9.8 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 21 active water-quality monitoring sites in Belmont County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Captina Creek gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Belmont County has water quality close to the average county in Ohio. Its water score is within 0.5 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 Belmont County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Belmont County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Belmont County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Belmont 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 6 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

21

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

3.1K

3,068 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Nutrient

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

43.9cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

24%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Captina Creek at S.R. 148 at Armstrongs Mills OH

USGS site
03113990
Drainage area
127 sq mi
Long-term mean
184 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 Belmont 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 Belmont County, Ohio?
Belmont County, Ohio has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 55.7/100, 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 Belmont County?
Belmont 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 healthy are the watersheds in Belmont County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Belmont County's 6 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 Belmont County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 3,068 measurements from 21 monitoring sites in Belmont County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Nutrient. 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 Belmont County right now?
Belmont County's primary USGS streamgage on the Captina Creek has a pipeline snapshot of 43.9 cubic feet per second — 24% of the long-term mean of 183.9 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 Belmont County water compare to the Ohio average?
Belmont County's SDWIS water quality score of 55.7/100 is lower 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 Belmont County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Belmont County has a water quality grade of C (55.7/100). 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).
Why does Belmont County have so many water violations?
Belmont 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 Belmont County rank for water quality in Ohio?
Belmont County ranks #51 out of 88 counties in Ohio by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 55.7/100, 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

Trumbull County

Ohio

C

54.8

Water score

Fayette County

Ohio

C

57.7

Water score

Wayne County

Ohio

C

52.2

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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