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Federal water data

County water report

Pontotoc County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.

Water grade

D

Water score

46.4

State rank

#5

of 77

Health violations

8

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

11.1%

9 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

10

3,530 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

Blue River near Franks, OK

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Pontotoc County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

D

Score: 46.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

8

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

11% impaired

9 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

Blue River near Franks, OK

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

10

3,530 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

D

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

46.4/100

Health violations

8

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

21.7

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Pontotoc County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Pontotoc County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 46.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 8 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). A notable 11.1% of assessed waterways carry an impairment designation (1 of 9 water bodies) across Pontotoc County's watersheds. The leading impairment cause is turbidity. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Pontotoc County has moderate coverage with 10 active monitoring sites with 3,530 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and not assigned. 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 Pontotoc County

Water Verdict

Pontotoc County receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 46.4 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking.

Violation Context

Pontotoc County has recorded 8 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 21.7 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Pontotoc County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Pontotoc County's drinking-water compliance score is 46.4 out of 100. The violation rate for Pontotoc County is 21.7 per 100,000 people served. Residents are encouraged to use an NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter for drinking and cooking water until the underlying violations are resolved. Running tap water for 30 seconds before use and avoiding older lead-pipe connections can also reduce exposure risk. The current Consumer Confidence Report from your utility will specify the contaminants of concern. Turbidity is the leading impairment cause in Pontotoc County's watershed. There are 10 active water-quality monitoring sites in Pontotoc County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Blue River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Pontotoc County has better water quality than the average county in Oklahoma. Its water score is 30.6 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 Pontotoc County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    High turbidity

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Pontotoc County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Pontotoc County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Pontotoc County

Consumer Confidence Reports (OK)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Oklahoma

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

11.1%

1 of 9 assessed

Some impairment

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    TURBIDITY

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

10

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

3.5K

3,530 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Not Assigned
  • 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).

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 Pontotoc 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 Pontotoc County, Oklahoma?
Pontotoc County, Oklahoma has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 46.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 8 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 Pontotoc County?
Pontotoc County has 8 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 Pontotoc County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 11.1% of Pontotoc County's 9 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (1 impaired). The top reported causes are TURBIDITY. 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 Pontotoc County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 3,530 measurements from 10 monitoring sites in Pontotoc County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Not Assigned, 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.
How does Pontotoc County water compare to the Oklahoma average?
Pontotoc County's SDWIS water quality score of 46.4/100 is higher than the Oklahoma state average of 15.8. The average water quality grade across Oklahoma is F, based on data from 77 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Pontotoc County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Pontotoc County has a water quality grade of D (46.4/100). This indicates below-average compliance with significant violations. Residents may want to consider home water filtration or independent testing. 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 Pontotoc County have so many water violations?
Pontotoc County has 8 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 Pontotoc County rank for water quality in Oklahoma?
Pontotoc County ranks #5 out of 77 counties in Oklahoma by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 46.4/100, 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

Beckham County

Oklahoma

D

41.6

Water score

Woodward County

Oklahoma

F

40.4

Water score

Mayes County

Oklahoma

F

39.2

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.

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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