County water report

Lane County Water Report

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

Water grade

Water score

29.0

State rank

#24

of 36

Health violations

217

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

181

173,028 recent measurements

Live streamflow

60%

MIDDLE FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER AT JASPER, OR

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Lane County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 29.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

217

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

60% of mean

MIDDLE FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER AT JASPER, OR

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

181

173,028 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.

29.0/100

Health violations

217

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

72.1

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Lane County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #2185 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

17.4

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-21.0

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Data Center West, Inc.

Mapped facilities

Date Center West - Eugene
Eugene · Data Center West, Inc.
OSM

See the Lane County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 21.5% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

21.5% of county industrial baseline2.92 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 Lane County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Lane County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 29.0 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 217 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 2026-05-14T12:10:00.000-07:00) puts MIDDLE FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER at 2.4k cfs — running somewhat below its historical average at 60% 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. Lane County has extensive coverage with 181 active monitoring sites with 173,028 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 Lane County

Water Verdict

Lane County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 29.0 out of 100. The water supply has documented quality issues. Residents are strongly encouraged to use filtered or bottled water for drinking and to stay informed about utility improvement plans.

Violation Context

Lane County has recorded 217 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 72.1 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Lane County has a Grade F compliance record with 217 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Lane County's drinking-water compliance score is 29.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Lane County is 72.1 per 100,000 people served. Residents are strongly advised to use a certified NSF 58 reverse-osmosis filter or bottled water for all drinking and cooking until violations are corrected. Contacting the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. With 181 active water-quality monitoring sites in Lane County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the MIDDLE FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Lane County has poorer water quality than the average county in Oregon. Its water score is 15.6 points lower than the state average, suggesting more challenges with contamination control or infrastructure than 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 Lane County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Lane County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Lane County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Lane County

Consumer Confidence Reports (OR)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Oregon

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

181

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

173K

173,028 total readings

Most Measured

Physical
Organics, Pesticide
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

2,440cfs

May 14, 7:10 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

60%

Below typical

Primary Streamgage

MIDDLE FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER AT JASPER, OR

USGS site: 14152000
Drainage area: 1,340 sq mi
Long-term mean: 4,059 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 Lane County:F — Failing

High violation count or severe watershed conditions.

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 Lane County, Oregon?

Lane County, Oregon has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 29.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 217 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 Lane County?

Lane County has 217 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 Lane County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 173,028 measurements from 181 monitoring sites in Lane County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Organics, Pesticide, 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 Lane County right now?

Lane County's primary USGS streamgage on the MIDDLE FORK WILLAMETTE RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 2,440 cubic feet per second — 60% of the long-term mean of 4,058.67 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.

How does Lane County water compare to the Oregon average?

Lane County's SDWIS water quality score of 29.0/100 is lower 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 Lane County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Lane County has a water quality grade of F (29.0/100). 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 Lane County have so many water violations?

Lane County has 217 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 Lane County rank for water quality in Oregon?

Lane County ranks #24 out of 36 counties in Oregon by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 29.0/100, 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

Grant County

Oregon

29.4

Water score

Douglas County

Oregon

28.5

Water score

Baker County

Oregon

28.4

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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