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Federal water data

County water report

Giles County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

36.9

State rank

#66

of 95

Health violations

4

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

27.0%

100 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

29

5,516 recent measurements

Live streamflow

37%

NEW RIVER AT GLEN LYN, VA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Giles County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 36.9 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

4

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

27% impaired

100 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

37% of mean

NEW RIVER AT GLEN LYN, VA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

29

5,516 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.

36.9/100

Health violations

4

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

40.6

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Giles County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Giles County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 36.9 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 4 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

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 27.0% of assessed waterways carry an impairment designation (27 of 100 water bodies) across Giles County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are pcbs in fish tissue and escherichia coli (e. coli). 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 2026-05-14T14:30:00.000-04:00) puts NEW RIVER at 1.9k cfs — well below its long-term average at 37% 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. Giles County has moderate coverage with 29 active monitoring sites with 5,516 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 Giles County

Water Verdict

Giles County receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 36.9 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

Giles County has recorded 4 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 40.6 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Giles County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Giles County's drinking-water compliance score is 36.9 out of 100. The violation rate for Giles County is 40.6 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. Pcbs in Fish Tissue is the leading impairment cause in Giles County's watershed. With 29 active water-quality monitoring sites in Giles County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the NEW RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Giles County has poorer water quality than the average county in Virginia. Its water score is 20.8 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 Giles County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Pcbs in Fish Tissue

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

  • 2

    E. coli (bacteria)

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

  • 3

    Fecal coliform bacteria

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Giles County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Giles County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Giles County

Consumer Confidence Reports (VA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Virginia

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

27.0%

27 of 100 assessed

Some impairment

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    PCBS IN FISH TISSUE

  • 2

    ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI)

  • 3

    FECAL COLIFORM

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

29

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

5.5K

5,516 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Nutrient
  • Inorganics, Major, Metals

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

1,890cfs

May 14, 6:30 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

37%

Well below typical

Primary Streamgage

NEW RIVER AT GLEN LYN, VA

USGS site
03176500
Drainage area
3,770 sq mi
Long-term mean
5,120 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 Giles 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 Giles County, Virginia?
Giles County, Virginia has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 36.9/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 4 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 Giles County?
Giles County has 4 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 Giles County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 27.0% of Giles County's 100 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (27 impaired). The top reported causes are PCBS IN FISH TISSUE, ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI), FECAL COLIFORM. 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 Giles County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 5,516 measurements from 29 monitoring sites in Giles County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Nutrient, Inorganics, Major, Metals. 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 Giles County right now?
Giles County's primary USGS streamgage on the NEW RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 1,890 cubic feet per second — 37% of the long-term mean of 5,119.91 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 Giles County water compare to the Virginia average?
Giles County's SDWIS water quality score of 36.9/100 is lower 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 Giles County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Giles County has a water quality grade of F (36.9/100). 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).
Does Giles County have clean drinking water?
Giles County has 4 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 36.9/100 and grade F, 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 Giles County rank for water quality in Virginia?
Giles County ranks #66 out of 95 counties in Virginia by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 36.9/100, 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

King George County

Virginia

F

40.0

Water score

Greene County

Virginia

F

32.8

Water score

Grayson County

Virginia

F

31.3

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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