Kanawha, WV
A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology.
Environmental data for Kanawha in West Virginia · Population: 178,198
Kanawha, WV is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 21 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 22 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 54/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.
Industrial disclosures inside the county total 3.6M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 11 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 40 and a peak AQI of 90 in 2024, with 78% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).
All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.
Air Quality History (2020–2024)
EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy (SG) | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 283 (78%) | 81 | 0 | 90 |
| 2023 | 254 (70%) | 106 | 0 | 153 |
| 2022 | 253 (72%) | 100 | 0 | 90 |
| 2021 | 239 (65%) | 126 | 0 | 97 |
| 2020 | 287 (78%) | 79 | 0 | 85 |
Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)
For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in West Virginia, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.
Water Systems (22)
| System | Population | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| WVAWC-KANAWHA VALLEY DIST | 209,283 | 0 |
| WVAWC - HUNTINGTON DIST | 98,647 | 2 |
| WVAWC NEW RIVER REGIONAL WTR TRTMT PLT | 25,603 | 0 |
| PUTNAM P S D | 24,020 | 0 |
| WVAWC BLUESTONE PLANT | 20,562 | 0 |
| ST ALBANS WATER | 13,758 | 1 |
| WVAWC BLUEFIELD DISTRICT | 12,174 | 0 |
| WVAW - WALNUT GROVE UTILITIES | 7,250 | 6 |
| CLINTON WATER ASSOC - ROUTE 119 | 5,733 | 2 |
| LINCOLN PSD | 4,039 | 14 |
| CLINTON WATER ASSOC - KINGWOOD PIKE | 3,100 | 0 |
| LINCOLN PSD - ROUTE 3 | 2,226 | 2 |
| WVAW- GASSAWAY | 2,159 | 0 |
| WVAWC GLADE SPRINGS DISTRICT | 1,747 | 0 |
| WVAW - THE MOUNTAIN WATER SYSTEM | 976 | 1 |
| WVAW - VALLEY WATER AND SEWER-DEERWOOD | 219 | 0 |
| LINCOLN PSD - LOWER MUD RIVER | 177 | 14 |
| WVAW - DEERFIELD VILLAGE SUBDIVISION | 132 | 20 |
| WVAW - CAVE QUARTER UTILITY | 126 | 2 |
| WVAW - APPLE ORCHARD ACRES | 91 | 0 |
| WVAWC 5 AND 20 MILE ROAD DISTRICT | 78 | 0 |
| REAMER HILL WATER ASSOC | 59 | 7 |
TRI Facilities (21)
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chemours Belle Plant | 1.3M lbs |
| 2 | Altivia Institute Facilities | 993.8K lbs |
| 3 | Union Carbide Corp Institute Facility | 645.7K lbs |
| 4 | Union Carbide Corp South Charleston Facility | 199.8K lbs |
| 5 | Innovative Water Care LLC | 155.5K lbs |
| 6 | Union Carbide Corp Technology Park Operations | 155.0K lbs |
| 7 | Arclin Amines | 97.8K lbs |
| 8 | Specialty Products US LLC - Polyox Plant | 31.4K lbs |
| 9 | Covestro LLC | 19.0K lbs |
| 10 | US Methanol LLC Liberty One Methanol Plant | 18.0K lbs |
| 11 | Panther Creek - Samples | 16.9K lbs |
| 12 | Univation Technologies LLC | 15.6K lbs |
| 13 | Puretech Scientific LLC | 5.5K lbs |
| 14 | Lanxess Corp | 5.2K lbs |
| 15 | Mplx Terminals LLC - Charleston Wv Terminal | 4.8K lbs |
| 16 | Kureha Pga LLC | 3.9K lbs |
| 17 | Cobb Gas Plant | 1.7K lbs |
| 18 | Catalyst Refiners Inc | 999 lbs |
| 19 | Brenntag Mid-South Inc. | 229 lbs |
| 20 | Optima Belle LLC | 150 lbs |
| 21 | Apollo Oil - Nitro Facility | 0 lbs |
Cities in Kanawha (8)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in Kanawha, West Virginia? ▼
Are there Superfund sites in Kanawha? ▼
How many toxic release facilities are in Kanawha? ▼
What is the air quality in Kanawha? ▼
Is the drinking water safe in Kanawha? ▼
What environmental agencies cover Kanawha? ▼
What does this county environmental profile show?
This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.