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Federal water data

County water report

Fauquier County Water Report

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

Water grade

C

Water score

61.3

State rank

#51

of 95

Health violations

2

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

54.3%

140 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

56

7,589 recent measurements

Live streamflow

26%

RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER AT REMINGTON, VA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Fauquier County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

C

Score: 61.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

2

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

54% impaired

140 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

26% of mean

RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER AT REMINGTON, VA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

56

7,589 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.

61.3/100

Health violations

2

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

5.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Fauquier County has 6 facilities in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #87 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSIThe Data Center Water Stress Index: 60% the county's water-system stress plus 40% how concentrated data centers already are, scored 0-100. Higher means data-center density and water pressure overlap more here.

67.2

0-100 index

Facility count

6

76.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

+11.3

Compared with US county median

Named operators

AWSMicrosoft

Mapped facilities

  • AMAZON DATA SERVICES - DCA-51

    WARRENTON · Amazon Data Services

    EPA ECHO

  • DATA CENTER VINT HILL LLC

    WARRENTON

    EPA ECHO

  • MICROSOFT

    WARRENTON · Microsoft

    EPA ECHO

  • OpenStreetMap data center 1380114462

    Facility details limited

    OSM

  • OpenStreetMap data center 1380114463

    Facility details limited

    OSM

  • OVH US East Vint Hill

    Facility details limited

    OSM
See the Fauquier County data-center reportReview methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

1 MW1,000 MW
40%100%
799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 73.1% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

73.1% of county industrial baseline0.29 Mgal/day remaining headroom

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 Fauquier County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Fauquier County's drinking water earned a C grade, scoring 61.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 2 health-based violations — a small cluster that warrants attention.

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 substantial 54.3% of assessed waterways are impaired (76 of 140 water bodies) across Fauquier County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are escherichia coli (e. coli) and benthic macroinvertebrates bioassessments. 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 2026-05-14T14:15:00.000-04:00) puts RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER at 178.0 cfs — well below its long-term average at 26% 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. Fauquier County has extensive coverage with 56 active monitoring sites with 7,589 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 Fauquier County

Water Verdict

Fauquier County, Virginia receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of C and a score of 61.3 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 140 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 54.3% 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 25.6% — worth watching in drier seasons.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Fauquier County, Virginia show 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 5.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is moderate and suggests recurring water quality challenges. For independent context, 7,589 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 Fauquier County meets baseline standards but the compliance record shows room for improvement, with a Grade C rating. Fauquier County's drinking-water compliance score is 61.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Fauquier County is 5.6 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 Fauquier County's watershed. With 56 active water-quality monitoring sites in Fauquier County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Fauquier County has water quality close to the average county in Virginia. Its water score is within 3.6 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 Fauquier County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 2

    Benthic Macroinvertebrates Bioassessments

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

  • 3

    Low dissolved oxygen

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Fauquier County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Fauquier County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Fauquier County

Consumer Confidence Reports (VA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Virginia

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

54.3%

76 of 140 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 2

    BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES BIOASSESSMENTS

  • 3

    DISSOLVED OXYGEN

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

56

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

7.6K

7,589 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

178cfs

May 14, 6:15 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

26%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER AT REMINGTON, VA

USGS site
01664000
Drainage area
619 sq mi
Long-term mean
695 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 Fauquier 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.

Try the full calculator →

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Fauquier County, Virginia?
Fauquier County, Virginia has a drinking-water quality grade of C with a score of 61.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 2 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 Fauquier County?
Fauquier County has 2 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 Fauquier County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 54.3% of Fauquier County's 140 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (76 impaired). The top reported causes are ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES BIOASSESSMENTS, DISSOLVED OXYGEN. 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 Fauquier County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 7,589 measurements from 56 monitoring sites in Fauquier 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 Fauquier County right now?
Fauquier County's primary USGS streamgage on the RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 178 cubic feet per second — 26% of the long-term mean of 695.11 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 Fauquier County water compare to the Virginia average?
Fauquier County's SDWIS water quality score of 61.3/100 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 Fauquier County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Fauquier County has a water quality grade of C (61.3/100). 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 Fauquier County have clean drinking water?
Fauquier County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 61.3/100 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 Fauquier County rank for water quality in Virginia?
Fauquier County ranks #51 out of 95 counties in Virginia by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 61.3/100, 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

Amherst County

Virginia

C

61.0

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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