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County water report

Amherst County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Amherst County, Virginia.

Water grade

C

Water score

61.0

State rank

#52

of 95

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

19.1%

220 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

53

12,055 recent measurements

Live streamflow

29%

JAMES RIVER AT BLUE RIDGE PKWY NR BIG ISLAND, VA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Amherst County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 61.0 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

19% impaired

220 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

29% of mean

JAMES RIVER AT BLUE RIDGE PKWY NR BIG ISLAND, VA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

53

12,055 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.

61.0/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

5.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Amherst County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Amherst County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 61.0 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 19.1% of assessed waterways carry an impairment designation (42 of 220 water bodies) across Amherst County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and pcbs in fish tissue. 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 2026-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00) puts JAMES RIVER at 1.1k cfs — well below its long-term average at 29% 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. Amherst County has extensive coverage with 53 active monitoring sites with 12,055 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 Amherst County

Water Verdict

Amherst County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 61.0 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

Amherst County has recorded 1 health-based violation, meaning the water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 5.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Amherst County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Amherst County's drinking-water compliance score is 61.0 out of 100. The violation rate for Amherst County is 5.8 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 Amherst County's watershed. With 53 active water-quality monitoring sites in Amherst County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the JAMES RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Amherst County has water quality close to the average county in Virginia. Its water score is within 3.3 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Virginia as a whole.

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 Amherst County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 2

    Pcbs in Fish Tissue

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

  • 3

    Mercury (fish tissue)

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Amherst County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Amherst County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Amherst County

Consumer Confidence Reports (VA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Virginia

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

19.1%

42 of 220 assessed

Some impairment

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    PCBS IN FISH TISSUE

  • 3

    MERCURY IN FISH TISSUE

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

53

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

12K

12,055 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Microbiological

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

1,070cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

29%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

JAMES RIVER AT BLUE RIDGE PKWY NR BIG ISLAND, VA

USGS site
02024752
Drainage area
3,076 sq mi
Long-term mean
3,635 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 Amherst 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 Amherst County, Virginia?
Amherst County, Virginia has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 61.0/100, 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 Amherst County?
Amherst 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 Amherst County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 19.1% of Amherst County's 220 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (42 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), PCBS IN FISH TISSUE, MERCURY IN FISH TISSUE. 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 Amherst County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 12,055 measurements from 53 monitoring sites in Amherst County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Microbiological. 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 Amherst County right now?
Amherst County's primary USGS streamgage on the JAMES RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 1,070 cubic feet per second — 29% of the long-term mean of 3,634.89 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 Amherst County water compare to the Virginia average?
Amherst County's SDWIS water quality score of 61.0/100 is higher than the Virginia state average of 57.7. The average water quality grade across Virginia is D, based on data from 95 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Amherst County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Amherst County has a water quality grade of C (61.0/100). 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).
Does Amherst County have clean drinking water?
Amherst County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 61.0/100 and grade C, 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 Amherst County rank for water quality in Virginia?
Amherst County ranks #52 out of 95 counties in Virginia by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 61.0/100, 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

Fauquier County

Virginia

C

61.3

Water score

Mecklenburg County

Virginia

C

60.4

Water score

Wise County

Virginia

C

58.4

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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