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Federal water data

County water report

Elk County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Elk County, Pennsylvania.

Water grade

F

Water score

29.8

State rank

#41

of 67

Health violations

21

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

16,499 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

20

2,414 recent measurements

Live streamflow

181%

Clarion River at Ridgway, PA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Elk County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 29.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

21

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

16,499 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

181% of mean

Clarion River at Ridgway, PA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

20

2,414 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

F

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

29.8/100

Health violations

21

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

68.1

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Elk County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Elk County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 29.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 21 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). None of the assessed waterways are listed as impaired (0 of 16,499 water bodies) across Elk County's watersheds. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T15:00:00.000-04:00) puts Clarion River at 1.1k cfs — running significantly above its long-term average at 181% 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. Elk County has moderate coverage with 20 active monitoring sites with 2,414 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include inorganics, minor, metals and physical. 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 Elk County

Water Verdict

Elk County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 29.8 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

Elk County has recorded 21 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 68.1 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Elk County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Elk County's drinking-water compliance score is 29.8 out of 100. The violation rate for Elk County is 68.1 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 20 active water-quality monitoring sites in Elk County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Clarion River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Elk County has poorer water quality than the average county in Pennsylvania. Its water score is 9.1 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 Elk County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Elk County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Elk County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Elk County

Consumer Confidence Reports (PA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Pennsylvania

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 16,499 assessed

Mostly healthy

Top Impairment Causes

No specific impairment causes reported for the assessed water bodies in this county.

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

20

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

2.4K

2,414 total readings

Most Measured

  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • Physical
  • 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

1,120cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

181%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

Clarion River at Ridgway, PA

USGS site
03029000
Drainage area
303 sq mi
Long-term mean
619 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

3

3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Elk 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 Elk County, Pennsylvania?
Elk County, Pennsylvania has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 29.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 21 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 Elk County?
Elk County has 21 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 Elk County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Elk County's 16,499 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (0 impaired). 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 Elk County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 2,414 measurements from 20 monitoring sites in Elk County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Inorganics, Minor, Metals, Physical, 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 Elk County right now?
Elk County's primary USGS streamgage on the Clarion River has a pipeline snapshot of 1,120 cubic feet per second — 181% of the long-term mean of 619.23 cfs. This is well above typical — often a signal of recent precipitation or storm runoff. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Elk County water compare to the Pennsylvania average?
Elk County's SDWIS water quality score of 29.8/100 is lower than the Pennsylvania state average of 38.9. The average water quality grade across Pennsylvania is F, based on data from 67 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Elk County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Elk County has a water quality grade of F (29.8/100). 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 Elk County have so many water violations?
Elk County has 21 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 Elk County rank for water quality in Pennsylvania?
Elk County ranks #41 out of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 29.8/100, 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

Jefferson County

Pennsylvania

F

29.7

Water score

Susquehanna County

Pennsylvania

F

29.1

Water score

Clinton County

Pennsylvania

F

28.9

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.

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 Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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