With all of the discussion about the horrible water quality in Flint, Michigan, we thought it would be interesting (and beneficial) to look at the quality of the water in other states in America.
Like Indiana, for instance. You may (or may not) be aware, but the water quality in Indiana also has some issues. The purpose of this post is to quickly list the places with the worst water, and provide a list at the bottom for you to check the water quality in your area.
Here are the 10 places with the worst water quality in Indiana:
- Indianapolis
- Lawrence
- Greenfield
- Beech Grove
- Cumberland
- Noblesville
- Fishers
- Carmel
- Westfield
- Yorktown
Before you get all upset, rest assured that we didn’t use our own personal opinion. We looked at the water quality, as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Indianapolis and a few of its suburbs scored the absolute lowest possible – and several of its affluent northern suburbs apparently have very bad water, too.
Sounds like some phone calls need to be made?
How we determined the worst water quality in Indiana
In order to find the places with the worst water in Indiana, we used the EPA reporting data to gather up all of the places in the state.
Example: https://www.bestplaces.net/health/city/indiana/indianapolis
The EPA has a complex method for measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators.
Next, we ranked the 100 most populated cities in Indiana according to the lowest EPA water scores. The worse EPA water quality scores are at the top of the chart below.
The following numbers are based on a score of 1 to 100. A ‘1’ is the absolute worst, and ‘100’ is the best water quality, according to the EPA. The national average is 55.
1. Indianapolis
Population: 831,320
EPA water quality: 1
2. Lawrence
Population: 45,303
EPA water quality: 1
3. Greenfield
Population: 20,874
EPA water quality: 1
4. Beech Grove
Population: 14,303
EPA water quality: 1
5. Cumberland
Population: 5,203
EPA water quality: 1
6. Noblesville
Population: 53,394
EPA water quality: 10
7. Fishers
Population: 77,404
EPA water quality: 10
8. Carmel
Population: 80,909
EPA water quality: 10
9. Westfield
Population: 31,293
EPA water quality: 10
10. Yorktown
Population: 9,393
EPA water quality: 10
Now That You Know
You might be smart enough to know that where you live isn’t pollution free. But this was a pretty eye-opening list, considering that in a lot of the Indianapolis area, the water quality is just about as bad as you can get, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Detailed List of Water Quality In Indiana
These are based on a scale of 1 to 100, where 1 is the worst. The national average is 55.
| City | Water Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | 1 | 1 |
| Lawrence | 1 | 2 |
| Greenfield | 1 | 3 |
| Beech_Grove | 1 | 4 |
| Cumberland | 1 | 5 |
| Noblesville | 10 | 6 |
| Fishers | 10 | 7 |
| Carmel | 10 | 8 |
| Westfield | 10 | 9 |
| Yorktown | 10 | 10 |
| Muncie | 10 | 11 |
| Mount_Vernon | 13 | 12 |
| Hartford_City | 20 | 13 |
| Bluffton | 20 | 14 |
| Decatur | 20 | 15 |
| Crawfordsville | 20 | 16 |
| New_Albany | 20 | 17 |
| New_Haven | 23 | 18 |
| Fort_Wayne | 23 | 19 |
| Vincennes | 25 | 20 |
| Zionsville | 25 | 21 |
| Mooresville | 26 | 22 |
| Tipton | 27 | 23 |
| Alexandria | 27 | 24 |
| Bargersville | 27 | 25 |
| New_Whiteland | 27 | 26 |
| Garrett | 27 | 27 |
| Ellettsville | 27 | 28 |
| Elwood | 27 | 29 |
| Danville | 27 | 30 |
| Martinsville | 27 | 31 |
| Avon | 27 | 32 |
| Auburn | 27 | 33 |
| Frankfort | 27 | 34 |
| Brownsburg | 27 | 35 |
| Franklin | 27 | 36 |
| Greenwood | 27 | 37 |
| Anderson | 27 | 38 |
| Bloomington | 27 | 39 |
| Evansville | 27 | 40 |
| Gas_City | 30 | 41 |
| North_Manchester | 30 | 42 |
| Batesville | 30 | 43 |
| Angola | 30 | 44 |
| Lowell | 30 | 45 |
| Wabash | 30 | 46 |
| Cedar_Lake | 30 | 47 |
| Madison | 30 | 48 |
| Lake_Station | 30 | 49 |
| Dyer | 30 | 50 |
| Griffith | 30 | 51 |
| Huntington | 30 | 52 |
| Munster | 30 | 53 |
| Crown_Point | 30 | 54 |
| Hobart | 30 | 55 |
| East_Chicago | 30 | 56 |
| Marion | 30 | 57 |
| Merrillville | 30 | 58 |
| Hammond | 30 | 59 |
| Gary | 30 | 60 |
| Lawrenceburg | 33 | 61 |
| Hidden_Valley | 33 | 62 |
| Bright | 33 | 63 |
| Westville | 33 | 64 |
| Charlestown | 33 | 65 |
| Brazil | 33 | 66 |
| Chesterton | 33 | 67 |
| La_Porte | 33 | 68 |
| Clarksville | 33 | 69 |
| Valparaiso | 33 | 70 |
| Michigan_City | 33 | 71 |
| Jeffersonville | 33 | 72 |
| Terre_Haute | 33 | 73 |
| Greencastle | 38 | 74 |
| Linton | 40 | 75 |
| North_Vernon | 40 | 76 |
| Columbia_City | 40 | 77 |
| Greensburg | 40 | 78 |
| Washington | 40 | 79 |
| Bedford | 40 | 80 |
| New_Castle | 40 | 81 |
| Columbus | 40 | 82 |
| West_Lafayette | 44 | 83 |
| Lafayette | 44 | 84 |
| Kendallville | 45 | 85 |
| Notre_Dame | 47 | 86 |
| Granger | 47 | 87 |
| Mishawaka | 47 | 88 |
| Kokomo | 47 | 89 |
| Tell_City | 50 | 90 |
| Logansport | 50 | 91 |
| Boonville | 53 | 92 |
| Monticello | 60 | 93 |
| Dunlap | 60 | 94 |
| Nappanee | 60 | 95 |
| Connersville | 60 | 96 |
| Warsaw | 60 | 97 |
| Goshen | 60 | 98 |
| Elkhart | 60 | 99 |
| Huntingburg | 67 | 100 |
| Jasper | 67 | 101 |
Interesting post. Unfortunately, your post mistakenly implies that the quality of drinking water in the Indianapolis area is poor. It is true that water quality in Indianapolis area rivers and streams is very poor. However, the quality of the drinking water in Indianapolis is very high thanks to proper water treatment by local water companies including the primary water provider Citizens Energy Group.
Since acquiring the Indianapolis water and wastewater systems in 2011, Citizens has invested about $1 billion to improve the systems. Our water system investments are reducing wasteful water main breaks, improving treatment plants, and ensuring adequate water supply for future years. We are executing about $3 billion of investments in our wastewater system over the next decade to eliminate sewer overflows that are currently polluting area waterways each time it rains as little as a quarter of an inch. The primary solution is our Dig Indy Project, a system of tunnels we are building to capture and prevent sewer overflows. While these system investments are expensive, they will produce immeasurable benefits for quality of life in Central Indiana. For more about the problems in our local water and wastewater systems and the solutions we are implementing, go to http://www.CitizensEnergyGroup.com.
I get stomach issues when i visit indy!! Not sure why.
I am surprised at the Greenwood score. I would place it as probably the worst. The crap that grows in the water is horrific. In the toilet, my cat’s watering bowl (I give my cat bottled water now). The Greenwood water smells and tastes like a swimming pool. I can’t drink it. I also can’t use my ice maker because it makes my drinks taste like bleach.