County water report

Morrow County Water Report

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

Water grade

Water score

33.9

State rank

#21

of 36

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

5,667 recent measurements

Live streamflow

117%

WILLOW CREEK AT MORGAN STREET, AT HEPPNER, OR

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Morrow County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 33.9 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

117% of mean

WILLOW CREEK AT MORGAN STREET, AT HEPPNER, OR

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

5,667 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.

33.9/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

50.2

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Morrow County has 38 facilities in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #130 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

59.0

0-100 index

Facility count

96.7 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-16.1

Compared with US county median

Named operators

AWS

Mapped facilities

Amazon Web Services
Boardman · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Boardman · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Boardman · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Boardman · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Boardman · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Boardman · Amazon Web Services
OSM

32 more mapped facilities included in the county score.

See the Morrow County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayModerate Impact

Your facility would use 10.5% of this county's industrial water baseline — manageable but worth monitoring against drought trends.

10.5% of county industrial baseline6.82 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 Morrow County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Morrow County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 33.9 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.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:00) puts WILLOW CREEK at 31.9 cfs — flowing above its historical average at 117% 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. Morrow County has moderate coverage with 39 active monitoring sites with 5,667 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 Morrow County

Water Verdict

Morrow County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 33.9 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

Morrow County has recorded 5 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 50.2 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Morrow County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Morrow County's drinking-water compliance score is 33.9 out of 100. The violation rate for Morrow County is 50.2 per 100,000 people served. An NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter is recommended for drinking and cooking water. Check the Consumer Confidence Report from your utility to identify the specific contaminants and required corrective actions — utilities are legally required to notify customers of violations. With 39 active water-quality monitoring sites in Morrow County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the WILLOW CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Morrow County has poorer water quality than the average county in Oregon. Its water score is 10.7 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 Morrow County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Morrow County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Morrow County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Morrow County

Consumer Confidence Reports (OR)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Oregon

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

5.7K

5,667 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

31.9cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

117%

Above typical

Primary Streamgage

WILLOW CREEK AT MORGAN STREET, AT HEPPNER, OR

USGS site: 14034608
Drainage area: 147 sq mi
Long-term mean: 27.3 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 Morrow 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 Morrow County, Oregon?

Morrow County, Oregon has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 33.9/100, 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 Morrow County?

Morrow 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 much water-quality monitoring happens in Morrow County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 5,667 measurements from 39 monitoring sites in Morrow 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 Morrow County right now?

Morrow County's primary USGS streamgage on the WILLOW CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 31.9 cubic feet per second — 117% of the long-term mean of 27.27 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.

How does Morrow County water compare to the Oregon average?

Morrow County's SDWIS water quality score of 33.9/100 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 Morrow County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Morrow County has a water quality grade of F (33.9/100). 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).

Does Morrow County have clean drinking water?

Morrow County has 5 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 33.9/100 and grade F, 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 Morrow County rank for water quality in Oregon?

Morrow County ranks #21 out of 36 counties in Oregon by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 33.9/100, 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

Yamhill County

Oregon

34.0

Water score

Crook County

Oregon

35.0

Water score

Clatsop County

Oregon

32.7

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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