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County water report

Hardin County Water Report

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

Water grade

B

Water score

65.3

State rank

#69

of 95

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

13.5%

111 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

36

3,491 recent measurements

Live streamflow

42%

HORSE CREEK NEAR SAVANNAH, TN (TVA)

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Hardin County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 65.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

14% impaired

111 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

42% of mean

HORSE CREEK NEAR SAVANNAH, TN (TVA)

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

36

3,491 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.

65.3/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

3.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Hardin County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Hardin County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 65.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 1 health-based violation — a single incident worth monitoring.

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 notable 13.5% of assessed waterways carry an impairment designation (15 of 111 water bodies) across Hardin County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are sedimentation/siltation and physical substrate habitat alterations. 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 2026-05-14T13:30:00.000-05:00) puts HORSE CREEK at 75.4 cfs — well below its long-term average at 42% 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. Hardin County has moderate coverage with 36 active monitoring sites with 3,491 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include biological, counts 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 Hardin County

Water Verdict

Hardin County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 65.3 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

Hardin County has recorded 1 health-based violation, meaning the water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 3.3 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Hardin County scores well above average for drinking-water safety. Hardin County's drinking-water compliance score is 65.3 out of 100. With 1 recorded health violation, the water supply is generally reliable. The violation rate for Hardin County is 3.3 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. Sedimentation/Siltation is the leading impairment cause in Hardin County's watershed. With 36 active water-quality monitoring sites in Hardin County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the HORSE CREEK gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Hardin County has poorer water quality than the average county in Tennessee. Its water score is 6 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 Hardin County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Sedimentation and siltation

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

  • 2

    Physical Substrate Habitat Alterations

    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 Hardin County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Hardin County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Hardin County

Consumer Confidence Reports (TN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Tennessee

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

13.5%

15 of 111 assessed

Some impairment

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    SEDIMENTATION/SILTATION

  • 2

    PHYSICAL SUBSTRATE HABITAT ALTERATIONS

  • 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

36

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

3.5K

3,491 total readings

Most Measured

  • Biological, Counts
  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Minor, Metals

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

75.4cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

42%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

HORSE CREEK NEAR SAVANNAH, TN (TVA)

USGS site
03593800
Drainage area
104 sq mi
Long-term mean
178 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 Hardin 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 Hardin County, Tennessee?
Hardin County, Tennessee has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 65.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 1 health-based drinking water violation over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Hardin County?
Hardin County has 1 health-based drinking water violation 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 Hardin County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 13.5% of Hardin County's 111 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (15 impaired). The top reported causes are SEDIMENTATION/SILTATION, PHYSICAL SUBSTRATE HABITAT ALTERATIONS, 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 Hardin County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 3,491 measurements from 36 monitoring sites in Hardin County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Biological, Counts, Physical, Inorganics, Minor, Metals. 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 Hardin County right now?
Hardin County's primary USGS streamgage on the HORSE CREEK has a pipeline snapshot of 75.4 cubic feet per second — 42% of the long-term mean of 177.85 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 Hardin County water compare to the Tennessee average?
Hardin County's SDWIS water quality score of 65.3/100 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 Hardin County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Hardin County has a water quality grade of B (65.3/100). 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 Hardin County have clean drinking water?
Hardin County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 65.3/100 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 Hardin County rank for water quality in Tennessee?
Hardin County ranks #69 out of 95 counties in Tennessee by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 65.3/100, 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

Greene County

Tennessee

B

64.8

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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