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Federal water data

County water report

Philadelphia County Water Report

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

Water grade

A

Water score

86.0

State rank

#4

of 67

Health violations

0

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

0.0%

10,266 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

115

23,904 recent measurements

Live streamflow

43%

Schuylkill River at Philadelphia, PA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Philadelphia County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

A

Score: 86.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

0

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

0% impaired

10,266 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

43% of mean

Schuylkill River at Philadelphia, PA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

115

23,904 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

A

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

86.0/100

Health violations

0

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

0.0

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Philadelphia County has 5 facilities in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #26 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSIThe Data Center Water Stress Index: 60% the county's water-system stress plus 40% how concentrated data centers already are, scored 0-100. Higher means data-center density and water pressure overlap more here.

80.6

0-100 index

Facility count

5

72.6 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+36.0

Compared with US county median

Named operators

Equinix

Mapped facilities

  • 365 DATA CENTERS

    PHILADELPHIA

    EPA ECHO

  • CROSS CONNECT SOLUTIONS

    PHILADELPHIA

    EPA ECHO

  • EQUINIX

    PHILADELPHIA · Equinix

    EPA ECHO

  • H5 DATA CENTERS

    PHILADELPHIA

    EPA ECHO

  • Terminal Commerce Building

    Philadelphia

    OSM
See the Philadelphia County data-center reportReview methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

1 MW1,000 MW
40%100%
799K gallons/dayModerate Impact

Your facility would use 9.7% of this county's industrial water baseline — manageable but worth monitoring against drought trends.

9.7% of county industrial baseline7.48 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 Philadelphia County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Philadelphia County earns an A grade for drinking water quality, scoring 86.0 out of 100. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) records zero health-based violations over the past five years — a strong compliance signal for a heavily urbanized county.

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 10,266 water bodies) across Philadelphia 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 2026-05-14T14:00:00.000-04:00) puts Schuylkill River at 1.2k cfs — well below its long-term average at 43% of mean — low-flow conditions worth noting for water-dependent ecosystems. 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. Philadelphia County has extensive coverage with 115 active monitoring sites with 23,904 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and pfas,perfluorinated alkyl substance. 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 Philadelphia County

Water Verdict

Philadelphia County receives an excellent water quality assessment with a grade of A and a score of 86.0 out of 100. The water supply meets or exceeds federal safety standards, and residents can generally drink tap water with confidence.

Violation Context

Philadelphia County has recorded zero health-based violations, indicating no recent health-based violations in the reporting period. The violation rate is zero per 100,000 people served, which is the best possible outcome.

Consumer Guidance

The EPA compliance record for Philadelphia County shows no recent health-based violations. No health-based violations have been recorded, placing Philadelphia County in the top tier for drinking-water safety. Philadelphia County's drinking-water compliance score is 86.0 out of 100. As a routine precaution, requesting your utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report each July gives you a full list of detected contaminants and their treatment levels. With 115 active water-quality monitoring sites in Philadelphia County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Schuylkill River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Philadelphia County has better water quality than the average county in Pennsylvania. Its water score is 47.1 points higher than the state average, indicating stronger water system performance relative to 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.

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

0.0%

0 of 10,266 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

115

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

24K

23,904 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • PFAS,Perfluorinated Alkyl Substance
  • 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

1,230cfs

May 14, 6:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

43%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Schuylkill River at Philadelphia, PA

USGS site
01474500
Drainage area
1,893 sq mi
Long-term mean
2,891 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 Philadelphia County:B — Good

Minor violations; waterways mostly healthy.

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.

Try the full calculator →

Philadelphia County has good water quality

Learn about water restrictions and conservation in your area.

Water Restrictions →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania?
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania has a drinking-water quality grade of A with a score of 86.0/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 0 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 Philadelphia County?
Philadelphia County has 0 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). Zero violations is an excellent record indicating consistent compliance with federal drinking water standards.
How healthy are the watersheds in Philadelphia County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 0.0% of Philadelphia County's 10,266 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 Philadelphia County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 23,904 measurements from 115 monitoring sites in Philadelphia County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, PFAS,Perfluorinated Alkyl Substance, 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 Philadelphia County right now?
Philadelphia County's primary USGS streamgage on the Schuylkill River has a pipeline snapshot of 1,230 cubic feet per second — 43% of the long-term mean of 2,890.74 cfs. This is well below typical — often a signal of drought stress on source water. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Philadelphia County water compare to the Pennsylvania average?
Philadelphia County's SDWIS water quality score of 86.0/100 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 Philadelphia County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Philadelphia County has a water quality grade of A (86.0/100). This indicates good to excellent water quality with strong SDWIS compliance. 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 Philadelphia County have clean drinking water?
Philadelphia County has 0 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 86.0/100 and grade A, the county's drinking water meets EPA standards with no recorded health violations. 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 Philadelphia County rank for water quality in Pennsylvania?
Philadelphia County ranks #4 out of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 86.0/100, it falls in the top 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

Cameron County

Pennsylvania

A

86.0

Water score

Forest County

Pennsylvania

A

86.0

Water score

Fulton County

Pennsylvania

A

86.0

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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