From your tap to the world around it

Water connects
everything.

Explore the waters around a place. Turn the globe, follow a stream, and discover the records behind a shoreline.

The water atlasUnited States · EPA assessments

A wider perspective

Follow the water.
Discover the connections.

From a neighborhood stream to the coast. Explore real waterbody assessments on an interactive globe.

Reported impairedOther assessment statusNot assessed / unknown

Shading follows assessment boundaries, which may include land. These are not live readings or swimming advisories. Unmarked does not mean clean. About the data

The 3D atlas needs JavaScript. You can explore the same official source in EPA How’s My Waterway or browse drinking-water records by state.

Read the landscape. Understand the record.

A map with context.

The atlas brings EPA’s published waterbody assessments into a geographic view. Select a region and zoom in to load records for that area.

Looking for drinking-water records?

What the colors mean

Ochre marks a waterbody reported as impaired. Teal means another reported assessment status; it is not a “safe” rating. Gray means not assessed or unknown. Shaded areas are reported assessment boundaries and may extend beyond the physical water. An assessment can cover more than one waterbody type.

Rivers, lakes, and coastal waters

Coverage includes waterbodies that states, tribes and territories have reported to EPA. Bays, estuaries, lagoons and some ocean shorelines can be included. This is not a global survey of the open ocean, and unmarked waters may have no published assessment in this source.

Assessment cycles, not live alerts

States report conditions over assessment cycles. Those records can be older than current conditions. Use local agencies for current swimming, fish-consumption or emergency advisories.

Follow the original source

Assessments: EPA ATTAINS. Detailed reports: How’s My Waterway. Map geography: OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles and OpenStreetMap contributors. Geography and assessment coverage are different layers.

Water connectseverything.

Follow the water.Discover the connections.