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County water report

Portage County Water Report

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

Water grade

B

Water score

62.3

State rank

#40

of 88

Health violations

5

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

12 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

3

506 recent measurements

Live streamflow

147%

Cuyahoga River at Hiram Rapids OH

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Portage County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 62.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

12 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

147% of mean

Cuyahoga River at Hiram Rapids OH

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

3

506 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.

62.3/100

Health violations

5

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

5.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Portage County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Portage County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 62.3 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.

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 12 water bodies) across Portage 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 Cuyahoga River at 336.0 cfs — flowing above its historical average at 147% of mean. 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. Portage County has limited coverage with 3 active monitoring sites with 506 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 Portage County

Water Verdict

Portage County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 62.3 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

Portage County has recorded 5 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 5.0 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Portage County meets baseline safety standards, though the compliance record shows some violations worth watching. Portage County's drinking-water compliance score is 62.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Portage County is 5.0 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. There are 3 active water-quality monitoring sites in Portage County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Cuyahoga River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Portage County has better water quality than the average county in Ohio. Its water score is 6.1 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 Portage County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Portage County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Portage County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Portage 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 12 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

3

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

506

506 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

336cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

147%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

Cuyahoga River at Hiram Rapids OH

USGS site
04202000
Drainage area
151 sq mi
Long-term mean
229 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 Portage 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 Portage County, Ohio?
Portage County, Ohio has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 62.3/100, 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 Portage County?
Portage 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 healthy are the watersheds in Portage County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Portage County's 12 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 Portage County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 506 measurements from 3 monitoring sites in Portage 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 Portage County right now?
Portage County's primary USGS streamgage on the Cuyahoga River has a pipeline snapshot of 336 cubic feet per second — 147% of the long-term mean of 228.87 cfs. This is well above typical — often a signal of recent precipitation or storm runoff. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Portage County water compare to the Ohio average?
Portage County's SDWIS water quality score of 62.3/100 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 Portage County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Portage County has a water quality grade of B (62.3/100). 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 Portage County have clean drinking water?
Portage County has 5 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 62.3/100 and grade B, 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 Portage County rank for water quality in Ohio?
Portage County ranks #40 out of 88 counties in Ohio by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 62.3/100, 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

Stark County

Ohio

C

62.0

Water score

Lawrence County

Ohio

B

62.6

Water score

Lorain County

Ohio

B

62.6

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.

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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