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County water report

Wilson County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

57.2

State rank

#74

of 95

Health violations

18

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

23.0%

100 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

51

3,899 recent measurements

Live streamflow

1%

SPRING CREEK BELOW LEBANON, TN

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Wilson County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 57.2 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

18

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

23% impaired

100 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

1% of mean

SPRING CREEK BELOW LEBANON, TN

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

51

3,899 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

C

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

57.2/100

Health violations

18

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

8.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Wilson County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Wilson County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 57.2 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 18 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). A notable 23.0% of assessed waterways carry an impairment designation (23 of 100 water bodies) across Wilson County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and alteration in stream-side or littoral vegetative covers. 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 SPRING CREEK BELOW LEBANON, TN at 1.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 1% 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. Wilson County has extensive coverage with 51 active monitoring sites with 3,899 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and nutrient. 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 Wilson County

Water Verdict

Wilson County, Tennessee receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 57.2 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 100 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 23.0% listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act — a source-water measure that is tracked independently of tap-water compliance. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 1.2% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Wilson County, Tennessee show 18 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 8.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 3,899 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Wilson County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Wilson County's drinking-water compliance score is 57.2 out of 100. The violation rate for Wilson County is 8.6 per 100,000 people served. Residents who are immunocompromised, pregnant, or have young children may benefit from using an NSF 53-certified filter. Contacting your local utility for the current Consumer Confidence Report will confirm which specific violations were recorded and whether they have been resolved. E. coli is the leading impairment cause in Wilson County's watershed. With 51 active water-quality monitoring sites in Wilson County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the SPRING CREEK BELOW LEBANON, TN gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Wilson County has poorer water quality than the average county in Tennessee. Its water score is 14.1 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 Wilson County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 2

    Alteration in Stream-Side Or Littoral Vegetative Covers

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

  • 3

    Nutrient pollution

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Wilson County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Wilson County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Wilson County

Consumer Confidence Reports (TN)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Tennessee

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

23.0%

23 of 100 assessed

Some impairment

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    ALTERATION IN STREAM-SIDE OR LITTORAL VEGETATIVE COVERS

  • 3

    NUTRIENTS

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

51

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

3.9K

3,899 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • 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

1.01cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

1%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

SPRING CREEK BELOW LEBANON, TN

USGS site
03425520
Drainage area
49.7 sq mi
Long-term mean
87.2 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 Wilson 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 Wilson County, Tennessee?
Wilson County, Tennessee has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 57.2/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 18 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 Wilson County?
Wilson County has 18 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 Wilson County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 23.0% of Wilson County's 100 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (23 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), ALTERATION IN STREAM-SIDE OR LITTORAL VEGETATIVE COVERS, NUTRIENTS. 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 Wilson County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 3,899 measurements from 51 monitoring sites in Wilson County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, 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 Wilson County right now?
Wilson County's primary USGS streamgage on the SPRING CREEK BELOW LEBANON, TN has a pipeline snapshot of 1.01 cubic feet per second — 1% of the long-term mean of 87.17 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 Wilson County water compare to the Tennessee average?
Wilson County's SDWIS water quality score of 57.2/100 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 Wilson County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Wilson County has a water quality grade of C (57.2/100). This indicates moderate compliance. Some violations have been recorded but overall standards are maintained. 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 Wilson County have so many water violations?
Wilson County has 18 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 Wilson County rank for water quality in Tennessee?
Wilson County ranks #74 out of 95 counties in Tennessee by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 57.2/100, 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

Montgomery County

Tennessee

C

55.1

Water score

Warren County

Tennessee

C

60.8

Water score

Robertson County

Tennessee

C

53.4

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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