County water report

Deschutes County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Deschutes County, Oregon.

Water grade

Water score

60.1

State rank

#10

of 36

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

195

202,941 recent measurements

Live streamflow

98%

DESCHUTES R AT BENHAM FALLS NR BEND, OR

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Deschutes County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 60.1 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

98% of mean

DESCHUTES R AT BENHAM FALLS NR BEND, OR

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

195

202,941 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

60.1/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

6.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Deschutes County has 2 facilities in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #145 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

54.1

0-100 index

Facility count

45.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+10.1

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Fort Rock Data CenterUS Signal

Mapped facilities

Fort Rock DC
Bend · Fort Rock Data Center
OSM
US Signal - OR01 Bend
Bend · US Signal
OSM

See the Deschutes County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

Estimate daily water use for a hypothetical facility in Deschutes County.

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 35.5% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

35.5% of county industrial baseline1.45 Mgal/day remaining headroom

Based on USGS 2020 water-use data and EPA-standard cooling intensity constants. Not a substitute for site-specific water rights analysis.

Editorial analysis

Understanding Deschutes County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Deschutes County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 60.1 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 12 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 1991-09-30T23:30:00.000-07:00) puts DESCHUTES R at 1.4k cfs — near its historical average at 98% of mean flow. 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. Deschutes County has extensive coverage with 195 active monitoring sites with 202,941 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and organics, pesticide. 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 Deschutes County

Water Verdict

Deschutes County, Oregon 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. The county's primary USGS gauge drains roughly 1,759 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was tracking near its historical mean (98.3%).

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Deschutes County, Oregon show 12 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. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 202,941 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Deschutes County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Deschutes County's drinking-water compliance score is 60.1 out of 100. The violation rate for Deschutes 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. With 195 active water-quality monitoring sites in Deschutes County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the DESCHUTES R gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Deschutes County has better water quality than the average county in Oregon. Its water score is 15.5 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 Deschutes County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Deschutes County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Deschutes County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Deschutes County

Consumer Confidence Reports (OR)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Oregon

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

195

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

203K

202,941 total readings

Most Measured

Physical
Organics, Pesticide
Biological, Algae, Cyanobacteria

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

1,360cfs

Oct 1, 6:30 AM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

98%

Near typical

Primary Streamgage

DESCHUTES R AT BENHAM FALLS NR BEND, OR

USGS site: 14064500
Drainage area: 1,759 sq mi
Long-term mean: 1,383 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

Household size

3 people · ~225 gal/day

Filter type

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Deschutes 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.

Try the full calculator →

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Deschutes County, Oregon?

Deschutes County, Oregon has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 60.1/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 12 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 Deschutes County?

Deschutes County has 12 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 Deschutes County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 202,941 measurements from 195 monitoring sites in Deschutes County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Organics, Pesticide, Biological, Algae, Cyanobacteria. 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 Deschutes County right now?

Deschutes County's primary USGS streamgage on the DESCHUTES R has a pipeline snapshot of 1,360 cubic feet per second — 98% of the long-term mean of 1,383.25 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.

How does Deschutes County water compare to the Oregon average?

Deschutes County's SDWIS water quality score of 60.1/100 is higher than the Oregon state average of 44.6. The average water quality grade across Oregon is D, based on data from 36 counties with available SDWIS data.

Is tap water safe to drink in Deschutes County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Deschutes 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).

Why does Deschutes County have so many water violations?

Deschutes County has 12 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 Deschutes County rank for water quality in Oregon?

Deschutes County ranks #10 out of 36 counties in Oregon by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 60.1/100, 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

Linn County

Oregon

53.8

Water score

Multnomah County

Oregon

66.8

Water score

Washington County

Oregon

67.7

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 May 14, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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