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County water report

Bandera County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Bandera County, Texas.

Water grade

F

Water score

24.3

State rank

#128

of 254

Health violations

15

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

21

4,156 recent measurements

Live streamflow

27%

Medina Rv abv English Crsg nr Pipe Creek, TX

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Bandera County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 24.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

15

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

27% of mean

Medina Rv abv English Crsg nr Pipe Creek, TX

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

21

4,156 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

F

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

24.3/100

Health violations

15

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

93.7

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Bandera County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Bandera County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 24.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 15 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T14:00:00.000-05:00) puts Medina Rv abv English Crsg at 13.4 cfs — well below its long-term average at 27% 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. Bandera County has moderate coverage with 21 active monitoring sites with 4,156 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and inorganics, major, non-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 Bandera County

Water Verdict

Bandera County, Texas receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 24.3 out of 100. The water supply has documented quality issues. Residents are strongly encouraged to use filtered or bottled water for drinking and to stay informed about utility improvement plans. The county's primary USGS gauge drains roughly 472 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was below its historical mean at 26.5% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Bandera County, Texas show 15 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 93.7 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. For independent context, 4,156 water-quality monitoring results have been recorded across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Bandera County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Bandera County's drinking-water compliance score is 24.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Bandera County is 93.7 per 100,000 people served. An NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter is recommended for drinking and cooking water. Check the Consumer Confidence Report from your utility to identify the specific contaminants and required corrective actions — utilities are legally required to notify customers of violations. With 21 active water-quality monitoring sites in Bandera County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Medina Rv abv English Crsg gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Bandera County has poorer water quality than the average county in Texas. Its water score is 6.1 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 Bandera County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Bandera County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Bandera County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Bandera County

Consumer Confidence Reports (TX)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Texas

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

21

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

4.2K

4,156 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Inorganics, Major, Non-metals
  • Organics, Other

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

13.4cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

27%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Medina Rv abv English Crsg nr Pipe Creek, TX

USGS site
08178980
Drainage area
472 sq mi
Long-term mean
50.5 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.

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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 Bandera County:F — Failing

High violation count or severe watershed conditions.

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 Bandera County, Texas?
Bandera County, Texas has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 24.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 15 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 Bandera County?
Bandera County has 15 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 much water-quality monitoring happens in Bandera County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 4,156 measurements from 21 monitoring sites in Bandera County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Major, Non-metals, Organics, Other. 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 Bandera County right now?
Bandera County's primary USGS streamgage on the Medina Rv abv English Crsg has a pipeline snapshot of 13.4 cubic feet per second — 27% of the long-term mean of 50.47 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 Bandera County water compare to the Texas average?
Bandera County's SDWIS water quality score of 24.3/100 is lower than the Texas state average of 30.4. The average water quality grade across Texas is F, based on data from 254 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Bandera County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Bandera County has a water quality grade of F (24.3/100). 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 Bandera County have so many water violations?
Bandera County has 15 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 Bandera County rank for water quality in Texas?
Bandera County ranks #128 out of 254 counties in Texas by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 24.3/100, 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

Llano County

Texas

F

24.7

Water score

Smith County

Texas

F

24.7

Water score

Comal County

Texas

F

23.6

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.

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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