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Federal water data

County water report

Greene County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Greene County, Tennessee.

Water grade

B

Water score

64.8

State rank

#70

of 95

Health violations

3

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

46.8%

141 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

71

13,651 recent measurements

Live streamflow

29%

NOLICHUCKY RIVER BELOW NOLICHUCKY DAM, TN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Greene County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 64.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

3

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

47% impaired

141 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

29% of mean

NOLICHUCKY RIVER BELOW NOLICHUCKY DAM, TN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

71

13,651 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

B

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

64.8/100

Health violations

3

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

3.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Greene County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Greene County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 64.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 3 health-based violations — a small cluster that warrants attention.

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). A substantial 46.8% of assessed waterways are impaired (66 of 141 water bodies) across Greene County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and sedimentation/siltation. 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 2026-05-14T14:15:00.000-04:00) puts NOLICHUCKY RIVER BELOW NOLICHUCKY DAM, TN at 558.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 29% 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. Greene County has extensive coverage with 71 active monitoring sites with 13,651 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and inorganics, minor, metals. 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 Greene County

Water Verdict

Greene County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 64.8 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Greene County has recorded 3 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 3.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Greene County scores well above average for drinking-water safety. Greene County's drinking-water compliance score is 64.8 out of 100. With 3 recorded health violations, the water supply is generally reliable. The violation rate for Greene County is 3.6 per 100,000 people served. Households with infants, pregnant individuals, or immunocompromised members may want to use an NSF 53-certified pitcher filter as a low-cost precaution. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Greene County's watershed. With 71 active water-quality monitoring sites in Greene County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the NOLICHUCKY RIVER BELOW NOLICHUCKY DAM, TN gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Greene County has poorer water quality than the average county in Tennessee. Its water score is 6.5 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 Greene County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 2

    Sedimentation and siltation

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 3

    Alteration in Stream-Side Or Littoral Vegetative Covers

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Greene County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Greene County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Greene County

Consumer Confidence Reports (TN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Tennessee

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

46.8%

66 of 141 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    SEDIMENTATION/SILTATION

  • 3

    ALTERATION IN STREAM-SIDE OR LITTORAL VEGETATIVE COVERS

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

71

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

14K

13,651 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals
  • 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

558cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

29%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

NOLICHUCKY RIVER BELOW NOLICHUCKY DAM, TN

USGS site
03466500
Drainage area
1,184 sq mi
Long-term mean
1,918 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 Greene 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 Greene County, Tennessee?
Greene County, Tennessee has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 64.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 3 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 Greene County?
Greene County has 3 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 Greene County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 46.8% of Greene County's 141 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (66 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), SEDIMENTATION/SILTATION, ALTERATION IN STREAM-SIDE OR LITTORAL VEGETATIVE COVERS. 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 Greene County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 13,651 measurements from 71 monitoring sites in Greene County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals, 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 Greene County right now?
Greene County's primary USGS streamgage on the NOLICHUCKY RIVER BELOW NOLICHUCKY DAM, TN has a pipeline snapshot of 558 cubic feet per second — 29% of the long-term mean of 1,918.1 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 Greene County water compare to the Tennessee average?
Greene County's SDWIS water quality score of 64.8/100 is lower than the Tennessee state average of 71.3. The average water quality grade across Tennessee is C, based on data from 95 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Greene County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Greene County has a water quality grade of B (64.8/100). 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 Greene County have clean drinking water?
Greene County has 3 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 64.8/100 and grade B, 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 Greene County rank for water quality in Tennessee?
Greene County ranks #70 out of 95 counties in Tennessee by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 64.8/100, it falls in the bottom 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

Hardin County

Tennessee

B

65.3

Water score

Washington County

Tennessee

B

66.2

Water score

Carter County

Tennessee

C

62.0

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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