County water report

Jones County Water Report

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

Water grade

Water score

10.7

State rank

#179

of 254

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

6,885 recent measurements

Live streamflow

Clear Fk Brazos Rv at Nugent, TX

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Jones County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 10.7 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

0% of mean

Clear Fk Brazos Rv at Nugent, TX

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

6,885 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

10.7/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

311.2

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Jones County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #2739 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

6.4

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-39.3

Compared with US county median

Mapped facilities

PROJECT QUEST
STAMFORD
EPA ECHO

See the Jones County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayData Unavailable

County-level industrial water use data is unavailable for this county. Contact the county water authority directly for industrial withdrawal capacity.

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 Jones County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Jones County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 10.7 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 52 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 2026-05-14T13:45:00.000-05:00) puts Clear Fk Brazos Rv at 0.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 0% 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. Jones County has limited coverage with 9 active monitoring sites with 6,885 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 Jones County

Water Verdict

Jones County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 10.7 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.

Violation Context

Jones County has recorded 52 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 311.2 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Jones County has a Grade F compliance record with 52 health-based violations — among the highest levels in the country. Jones County's drinking-water compliance score is 10.7 out of 100. Residents are strongly advised to use a certified NSF 58 reverse-osmosis filter or bottled water for all drinking and cooking until violations are corrected. Contacting the Texas Department of Environmental Quality or Health can expedite utility compliance action. There are 9 active water-quality monitoring sites in Jones County. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Clear Fk Brazos Rv gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Jones County has poorer water quality than the average county in Texas. Its water score is 19.7 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 Jones County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Jones County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Jones County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Jones County

Consumer Confidence Reports (TX)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Texas

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

6.9K

6,885 total readings

Most Measured

Physical
Inorganics, Major, Non-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

0.03cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

Clear Fk Brazos Rv at Nugent, TX

USGS site: 08084000
Drainage area: 2,199 sq mi
Long-term mean: 84.9 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

Household size

3 people · ~225 gal/day

Filter type

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Jones 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.

Try the full calculator →

Improve your water quality at home

Berkey filters remove 99.9%+ of contaminants from tap water.

Shop Berkey →

Test your tap water

Tap Score provides professional mail-in water testing.

Get Tested →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Jones County, Texas?

Jones County, Texas has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 10.7/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 52 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 Jones County?

Jones County has 52 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 Jones County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 6,885 measurements from 9 monitoring sites in Jones County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Inorganics, Major, Non-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 Jones County right now?

Jones County's primary USGS streamgage on the Clear Fk Brazos Rv has a pipeline snapshot of 0.03 cubic feet per second — 0% of the long-term mean of 84.86 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 Jones County water compare to the Texas average?

Jones County's SDWIS water quality score of 10.7/100 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 Jones County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Jones County has a water quality grade of F (10.7/100). 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 Jones County have so many water violations?

Jones County has 52 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 Jones County rank for water quality in Texas?

Jones County ranks #179 out of 254 counties in Texas by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 10.7/100, 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

Burleson County

Texas

10.6

Water score

Bee County

Texas

10.9

Water score

Angelina County

Texas

11.0

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.

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 May 14, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Explore more data for Jones County

Property Tax Cost of Living Crime Rate Income Health Schools Disaster Risk Weather County Score