County water report

Whatcom County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Whatcom County, Washington.

Water grade

Water score

45.3

State rank

#32

of 39

Health violations

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

Not reported

EPA ATTAINS coverage varies by state

Monitoring sites

408

118,345 recent measurements

Live streamflow

81%

SKAGIT RIVER AT NEWHALEM, WA

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Whatcom County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

Score: 45.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

Not reported

Coverage varies by state

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

81% of mean

SKAGIT RIVER AT NEWHALEM, WA

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

408

118,345 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.

45.3/100

Health violations

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

23.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Data center water stress

Whatcom County has 1 facility in the DCWSI dataset.

ByCounty's DCWSI ranks this county #1699 nationally by combining its water score with mapped data center density.

DCWSI

27.2

0-100 index

Facility count

0.0 density percentile

Discharge estimate

Not reported

EPA CWA fields where available

Water vs median

-4.7

Compared with US county median

Named operators

CSS Communications

Mapped facilities

CSSNW Bellingham
CSS Communications
OSM

See the Whatcom County data-center report Review methodology

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

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

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 37.7% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

37.7% of county industrial baseline1.32 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 Whatcom County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Whatcom County's drinking water received a D grade, scoring 45.3 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 57 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 2026-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:00) puts SKAGIT RIVER at 3.6k cfs — running somewhat below its historical average at 81% 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. Whatcom County has extensive coverage with 408 active monitoring sites with 118,345 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and organics, pesticide. 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 Whatcom County

Water Verdict

Whatcom County receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of D and a score of 45.3 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking.

Violation Context

Whatcom County has recorded 57 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 23.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues.

Consumer Guidance

Whatcom County's drinking-water compliance is below average with a Grade D, indicating repeated or unresolved violations in the recent record. Whatcom County's drinking-water compliance score is 45.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Whatcom County is 23.4 per 100,000 people served. Residents are encouraged to use an NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter for drinking and cooking water until the underlying violations are resolved. Running tap water for 30 seconds before use and avoiding older lead-pipe connections can also reduce exposure risk. The current Consumer Confidence Report from your utility will specify the contaminants of concern. With 408 active water-quality monitoring sites in Whatcom County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the SKAGIT RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Whatcom County has poorer water quality than the average county in Washington. Its water score is 14 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 Whatcom County's water environment

Official EPA Resources for Whatcom County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Whatcom County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Whatcom County

Consumer Confidence Reports (WA)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Washington

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

408

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

118K

118,345 total readings

Most Measured

Physical
Organics, Pesticide
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

3,610cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

81%

Below typical

Primary Streamgage

SKAGIT RIVER AT NEWHALEM, WA

USGS site: 12178000
Drainage area: 1,175 sq mi
Long-term mean: 4,472 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 Whatcom County:D — Poor

Elevated violations or significant watershed impairment.

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 Whatcom County, Washington?

Whatcom County, Washington has a drinking-water quality grade of D with a score of 45.3/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 57 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 Whatcom County?

Whatcom County has 57 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 Whatcom County?

EPA's Water Quality Portal records 118,345 measurements from 408 monitoring sites in Whatcom County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Organics, Pesticide, 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 Whatcom County right now?

Whatcom County's primary USGS streamgage on the SKAGIT RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 3,610 cubic feet per second — 81% of the long-term mean of 4,472.25 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.

How does Whatcom County water compare to the Washington average?

Whatcom County's SDWIS water quality score of 45.3/100 is lower than the Washington state average of 59.3. The average water quality grade across Washington is D, based on data from 39 counties with available SDWIS data.

Is tap water safe to drink in Whatcom County?

Based on EPA SDWIS data, Whatcom County has a water quality grade of D (45.3/100). 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 Whatcom County have so many water violations?

Whatcom County has 57 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 Whatcom County rank for water quality in Washington?

Whatcom County ranks #32 out of 39 counties in Washington by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 45.3/100, 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

Grant County

Washington

42.5

Water score

Benton County

Washington

41.0

Water score

Okanogan County

Washington

49.7

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

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