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Federal water data

County water report

Waushara County Water Report

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

Water grade

F

Water score

40.3

State rank

#35

of 71

Health violations

2

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

3.1%

286 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

198

86,841 recent measurements

Live streamflow

No gauge

Primary USGS station not mapped

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Waushara County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 40.3 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

2

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

3% impaired

286 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

No gauge

Primary USGS gauge not mapped

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

198

86,841 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.

40.3/100

Health violations

2

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

31.8

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Waushara County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Waushara County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 40.3 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 small share — 3.1% — of assessed waterways are impaired (9 of 286 water bodies) across Waushara County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are cause unknown and phosphorus, total. Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Waushara County has extensive coverage with 198 active monitoring sites with 86,841 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 Waushara County

Water Verdict

Waushara County, Wisconsin receives a below-average water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 40.3 out of 100. Residents should review their utility's Consumer Confidence Report and may want to consider additional water filtration for drinking. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 286 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 3.1% listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act — a source-water measure that is tracked independently of tap-water compliance.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Waushara County, Wisconsin show 2 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 31.8 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. This compliance record sits alongside an unusually deep monitoring archive: 86,841 water-quality results have been logged across the county in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Waushara County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Waushara County's drinking-water compliance score is 40.3 out of 100. The violation rate for Waushara County is 31.8 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. Cause Unknown is the leading impairment cause in Waushara County's watershed. With 198 active water-quality monitoring sites in Waushara County, data coverage is strong.

Regional Context

Waushara County has water quality close to the average county in Wisconsin. Its water score is within 0.8 points of the state average, meaning its overall water system performance is broadly representative of Wisconsin 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 Waushara County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Cause Unknown

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

  • 2

    Phosphorus (excess nutrients)

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

  • 3

    Total Suspended Solids (Tss)

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

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Waushara County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Waushara County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Waushara County

Consumer Confidence Reports (WI)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Wisconsin

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

3.1%

9 of 286 assessed

Mostly healthy

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    CAUSE UNKNOWN

  • 2

    PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL

  • 3

    TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS)

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

198

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

87K

86,841 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Organics, Pesticide
  • Not Assigned

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).

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 Waushara 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 Waushara County, Wisconsin?
Waushara County, Wisconsin has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 40.3/100, 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 Waushara County?
Waushara 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 Waushara County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 3.1% of Waushara County's 286 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (9 impaired). The top reported causes are CAUSE UNKNOWN, PHOSPHORUS, TOTAL, TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS). 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 Waushara County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 86,841 measurements from 198 monitoring sites in Waushara County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Organics, Pesticide, Not Assigned. 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.
How does Waushara County water compare to the Wisconsin average?
Waushara County's SDWIS water quality score of 40.3/100 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 Waushara County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Waushara County has a water quality grade of F (40.3/100). 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).
Does Waushara County have clean drinking water?
Waushara County has 2 health-based drinking water violations according to EPA records. With a water quality score of 40.3/100 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 Waushara County rank for water quality in Wisconsin?
Waushara County ranks #35 out of 71 counties in Wisconsin by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 40.3/100, 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

Juneau County

Wisconsin

F

39.7

Water score

Green County

Wisconsin

F

39.1

Water score

Burnett County

Wisconsin

D

41.8

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.

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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