Indiana is one of the worst states when it comes to water quality in the United States.
According to a study done by WalletHub titled “2015’s Most and Least Eco-Friendly States”, Indiana ranked 30 out of 50 for the quality of its water.
The study showed New York having the poorest water quality and Connecticut having the highest quality of water.
Counties cited for water quality violations are located mainly in southern Indiana, although there are still some counties with violations in northern and central parts of the state, according to County Health Rankings and Roadmaps.
Water violations by county are measured by the percentage of people who could have potentially been exposed to water that exceeded health limits.
In 2015, Fulton County had 39 percent of its population exposed to water that did not meet the EPA water guidelines, followed by Whitley County with 34 percent, Lake County with 22 percent, Martin County with 17 percent, Hendricks County with 16 percent and Scott County with 14 percent.
Delaware County had zero percent of its population exposed to unsafe drinking water in 2015.
Several factors contribute to poor water quality in certain counties including sewage and wastewater problems, industrial waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, oil leaks and burning fossil fuels.
Fulton County’s main employers are in steel and industrial manufacturing, which can be a major source of water pollution. Lake County’s main industry is also in steel.
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are often used on farms, and Indiana has over 60,000 farms within the state. While these fertilizers and pesticides are crucial for farmers to protect their crops, rain can cause these chemicals to flow to rivers and streams and pollute water sources.
Most people are concerned with lead being in their drinking water, a dangerous threat that has been at the height of concern since the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The Environmental Protection Agency has had the Lead and Copper Rule in place since 1991. This rule requires water providers to monitor drinking water coming from their customer’s taps. If lead in the water exceeds 15 ppb (parts per billion), action is required to control where the lead is coming from and bring the water back to quality levels.
If lead is found in drinking water, the water systems affected by lead contamination are required under the Public Notification Rule of when water will be safe to drink again.
While Indiana has not had a lead contamination situation as severe as the crisis in Flint, Mich., a report from the Associated Press shows that 38 water systems exceeded the federal allowance of lead in drinking water.
People can find out if they are at risk for lead in their drinking water by contacting their water supplier or checking yearly water quality reports from the EPA.
Indiana 30th in Water Quality
Indiana County Drinking Water Violations 2013-2014
Out of Indiana's 92 counties, 54 had no drinking water violations between 2013 and 2014. Delaware county, although not part of the group with zero violations, came in at No. 12 out of the counties that did have drinking water violations. Delaware County had a significantly higher number of violations between 2013 and 2014 than all the surrounding counties, who had no violations. However, the Delaware County received 163 violations compared to Lake County, which with more than 100,000, had the high number of drinking water violations.