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County water report

San Juan County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for San Juan County, Utah.

Water grade

F

Water score

22.8

State rank

#24

of 29

Health violations

8

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

131

42,457 recent measurements

Live streamflow

120%

COLORADO RIVER AT GYPSUM CANYON NEAR HITE, UT

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for San Juan County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 22.8 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

8

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

120% of mean

COLORADO RIVER AT GYPSUM CANYON NEAR HITE, UT

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

131

42,457 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.

22.8/100

Health violations

8

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

103.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding San Juan County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

San Juan County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 22.8 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 8 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 2026-05-14T13:00:00.000-06:00) puts COLORADO RIVER at 12.0k cfs — flowing above its historical average at 120% of mean. 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. San Juan County has extensive coverage with 131 active monitoring sites with 42,457 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 San Juan County

Water Verdict

San Juan County, Utah receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 22.8 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 71,200 square miles of upstream watershed, giving local source waters a regional footprint. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was running above its historical mean at 120.1%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for San Juan County, Utah show 8 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 103.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 42,457 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in San Juan County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. San Juan County's drinking-water compliance score is 22.8 out of 100. 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 131 active water-quality monitoring sites in San Juan County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the COLORADO RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

San Juan County has poorer water quality than the average county in Utah. Its water score is 24.9 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 San Juan County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for San Juan County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for San Juan County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for San Juan County

Consumer Confidence Reports (UT)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Utah

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

131

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

42K

42,457 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

12.0Kcfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

120%

Above typical

Primary Streamgage

COLORADO RIVER AT GYPSUM CANYON NEAR HITE, UT

USGS site
09328960
Drainage area
71,200 sq mi
Long-term mean
9,989 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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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 San Juan 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 San Juan County, Utah?
San Juan County, Utah has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 22.8/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 8 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 San Juan County?
San Juan County has 8 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 San Juan County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 42,457 measurements from 131 monitoring sites in San Juan 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 San Juan County right now?
San Juan County's primary USGS streamgage on the COLORADO RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 12,000 cubic feet per second — 120% of the long-term mean of 9,989 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does San Juan County water compare to the Utah average?
San Juan County's SDWIS water quality score of 22.8/100 is lower than the Utah state average of 47.7. The average water quality grade across Utah is D, based on data from 29 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in San Juan County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, San Juan County has a water quality grade of F (22.8/100). 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 San Juan County have so many water violations?
San Juan County has 8 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 San Juan County rank for water quality in Utah?
San Juan County ranks #24 out of 29 counties in Utah by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 22.8/100, 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

Wasatch County

Utah

F

20.9

Water score

Wayne County

Utah

F

25.9

Water score

Grand County

Utah

F

26.8

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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