County water report

Umatilla County Water Report

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

Water grade

Water score

45.9

State rank

#15

of 36

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

401

828,661 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

COLUMBIA RIVER AT MCNARY DAM,NEAR UMATILLA, OR

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Umatilla County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 45.9 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

COLUMBIA RIVER AT MCNARY DAM,NEAR UMATILLA, OR

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

401

828,661 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.

45.9/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

22.5

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Umatilla County has 29 facilities in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #91 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

65.8

0-100 index

Facility count

95.7 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-4.1

Compared with US county median

Named operators

AWS

Mapped facilities

AMAZON DATA SERVICES, INC.
KENNEWICK · Amazon Data Services
EPA ECHO
Amazon Web Services
Umatilla · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Umatilla · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Umatilla · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Umatilla · Amazon Web Services
OSM
Amazon Web Services
Umatilla · Amazon Web Services
OSM

23 more mapped facilities included in the county score.

See the Umatilla County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 112.9% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

112.9% of county industrial baseline

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 Umatilla County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Umatilla County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 45.9 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 14 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Umatilla County has extensive coverage with 401 active monitoring sites with 828,661 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 Umatilla County

Water Verdict

Umatilla County receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 45.9 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking.

Violation Context

Umatilla County has recorded 14 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 22.5 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Umatilla County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Umatilla County's drinking-water compliance score is 45.9 out of 100. The violation rate for Umatilla County is 22.5 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. With 401 active water-quality monitoring sites in Umatilla County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the COLUMBIA RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Umatilla County has water quality close to the average county in Oregon. Its water score is within 1.3 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Oregon as a whole.

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 Umatilla County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Umatilla County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Umatilla County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Umatilla County

Consumer Confidence Reports (OR)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Oregon

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

401

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

829K

828,661 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).

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 Umatilla County:D — Poor

Elevated violations or significant watershed impairment.

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 Umatilla County, Oregon?

Umatilla County, Oregon has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 45.9/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 14 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 Umatilla County?

Umatilla County has 14 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 Umatilla County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 828,661 measurements from 401 monitoring sites in Umatilla 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.

How does Umatilla County water compare to the Oregon average?

Umatilla County's SDWIS water quality score of 45.9/100 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 Umatilla County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Umatilla County has a water quality grade of D (45.9/100). 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).

Why does Umatilla County have so many water violations?

Umatilla County has 14 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 Umatilla County rank for water quality in Oregon?

Umatilla County ranks #15 out of 36 counties in Oregon by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 45.9/100, 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

Polk County

Oregon

45.5

Water score

Lake County

Oregon

42.7

Water score

Hood River County

Oregon

49.3

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.

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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