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Federal water data

County water report

Erie County Water Report

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

Water grade

D

Water score

43.7

State rank

#29

of 67

Health violations

75

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

19,049 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

85

18,287 recent measurements

Live streamflow

163%

French Creek near Union City, PA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Erie County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

D

Score: 43.7 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

75

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

19,049 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

163% of mean

French Creek near Union City, PA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

85

18,287 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

D

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

43.7/100

Health violations

75

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

25.7

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Erie County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Erie County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 43.7 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 75 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 19,049 water bodies) across Erie 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 2026-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00) puts French Creek at 869.0 cfs — running significantly above its long-term average at 163% 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. Erie County has extensive coverage with 85 active monitoring sites with 18,287 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include microbiological 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 Erie County

Water Verdict

Erie County, Pennsylvania receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 43.7 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments track 19,049 water bodies in the county's watershed, none of which are currently listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was running above its historical mean at 163.3%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Erie County, Pennsylvania show 75 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 25.7 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 18,287 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Erie County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Erie County's drinking-water compliance score is 43.7 out of 100. The violation rate for Erie County is 25.7 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 85 active water-quality monitoring sites in Erie County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the French Creek gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Erie County has water quality close to the average county in Pennsylvania. Its water score is within 4.8 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Pennsylvania 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 Erie County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Erie County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Erie County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Erie 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 19,049 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

85

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

18K

18,287 total readings

Most Measured

  • Microbiological
  • Physical
  • Organics, Pesticide

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

869cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

163%

Well above typical

Primary Streamgage

French Creek near Union City, PA

USGS site
03021520
Drainage area
221 sq mi
Long-term mean
532 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

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Water Cost Estimate

3

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Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Erie 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 Erie County, Pennsylvania?
Erie County, Pennsylvania has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 43.7/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 75 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 Erie County?
Erie County has 75 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 Erie County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Erie County's 19,049 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 Erie County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 18,287 measurements from 85 monitoring sites in Erie County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Microbiological, Physical, Organics, Pesticide. 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 Erie County right now?
Erie County's primary USGS streamgage on the French Creek has a pipeline snapshot of 869 cubic feet per second — 163% of the long-term mean of 532.25 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 Erie County water compare to the Pennsylvania average?
Erie County's SDWIS water quality score of 43.7/100 is higher 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 Erie County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Erie County has a water quality grade of D (43.7/100). 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 Erie County have so many water violations?
Erie County has 75 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 Erie County rank for water quality in Pennsylvania?
Erie County ranks #29 out of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 43.7/100, 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

Huntingdon County

Pennsylvania

D

44.0

Water score

Centre County

Pennsylvania

D

43.3

Water score

Fayette County

Pennsylvania

D

44.3

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.

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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