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County water report

Portage County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Portage County, Wisconsin.

Water grade

B

Water score

67.3

State rank

#4

of 71

Health violations

1

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

4.7%

449 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

192

63,429 recent measurements

Live streamflow

98%

TOMORROW RIVER NEAR NELSONVILLE, WI

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Portage County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

B

Score: 67.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

1

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

5% impaired

449 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

98% of mean

TOMORROW RIVER NEAR NELSONVILLE, WI

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

192

63,429 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

B

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

67.3/100

Health violations

1

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

2.3

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Portage County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Portage County earns a B grade for drinking water quality, scoring 67.3 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 small share — 4.7% — of assessed waterways are impaired (21 of 449 water bodies) across Portage County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are phosphorus, total and cause unknown. 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 2026-05-14T14:00:00.000-05:00) puts TOMORROW RIVER at 34.0 cfs — near its historical average at 98% of mean flow. 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. Portage County has extensive coverage with 192 active monitoring sites with 63,429 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 Portage County

Water Verdict

Portage County receives a fair water quality assessment with a grade of B and a score of 67.3 out of 100. The water supply meets baseline federal standards, but there may be periods of elevated contaminant levels or infrastructure concerns worth monitoring.

Violation Context

Portage County has recorded 1 health-based violation, meaning the water system experienced at least one exceedance of federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements. At 2.3 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is relatively low compared to many U.S. counties.

Consumer Guidance

Tap water in Portage County scores well above average for drinking-water safety. Portage County's drinking-water compliance score is 67.3 out of 100. With 1 recorded health violation, the water supply is generally reliable. The violation rate for Portage County is 2.3 per 100,000 people served. Households with infants, pregnant individuals, or immunocompromised members may want to use an NSF 53-certified pitcher filter as a low-cost precaution. Phosphorus, Total is the leading impairment cause in Portage County's watershed. With 192 active water-quality monitoring sites in Portage County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the TOMORROW RIVER gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Portage County has better water quality than the average county in Wisconsin. Its water score is 27.8 points higher than the state average, indicating stronger water system performance relative to 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 Portage County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Phosphorus (excess nutrients)

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

  • 2

    Cause Unknown

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

  • 3

    Mercury

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Portage County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Portage County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Portage County

Consumer Confidence Reports (WI)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Wisconsin

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

4.7%

21 of 449 assessed

Mostly healthy

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL

  • 2

    CAUSE UNKNOWN

  • 3

    MERCURY

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

192

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

63K

63,429 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Organics, Pesticide
  • Biological, Counts

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

34.0cfs

May 14, 7:00 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

98%

Near typical

Primary Streamgage

TOMORROW RIVER NEAR NELSONVILLE, WI

USGS site
04080798
Drainage area
40 sq mi
Long-term mean
34.9 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 Portage 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 Portage County, Wisconsin?
Portage County, Wisconsin has a drinking-water quality grade of B with a score of 67.3/100, 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 Portage County?
Portage 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 Portage County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 4.7% of Portage County's 449 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (21 impaired). The top reported causes are PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL, CAUSE UNKNOWN, MERCURY. 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 Portage County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 63,429 measurements from 192 monitoring sites in Portage County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Organics, Pesticide, Biological, Counts. 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 Portage County right now?
Portage County's primary USGS streamgage on the TOMORROW RIVER has a pipeline snapshot of 34 cubic feet per second — 98% of the long-term mean of 34.85 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Portage County water compare to the Wisconsin average?
Portage County's SDWIS water quality score of 67.3/100 is higher than the Wisconsin state average of 39.5. The average water quality grade across Wisconsin is F, based on data from 71 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Portage County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Portage County has a water quality grade of B (67.3/100). This indicates good to excellent water quality with strong SDWIS compliance. 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 Portage County have clean drinking water?
Portage County has 1 health-based drinking water violation according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 67.3/100 and grade B, 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 Portage County rank for water quality in Wisconsin?
Portage County ranks #4 out of 71 counties in Wisconsin by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 67.3/100, it falls in the top 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

Wood County

Wisconsin

B

67.5

Water score

Outagamie County

Wisconsin

B

66.2

Water score

Dane County

Wisconsin

B

65.0

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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