Dirty water doesn't always come with a sign.

Map key

• Discharge or advisory reported shown as solid line or filled water

  A discharge is reported as ongoing, a post-discharge period applies, or an official advisory is listed. Open the report for its source, dates and advice.

  This status does not measure water quality at your location.

• Caution shown as line with dark dashes inside

  Caution applies after a recent discharge, when a report leaves its status unclear, or during a rainfall advisory. The report explains which rule applies.

  DirtyWaterWatch sets its own post-discharge caution periods. Official rainfall advice is named separately.

• Discharge likely: heavy rain, no report received shown as caution colour with a dashed outline

  Radar shows that recent rain at a combined sewer system's outlets has reached the amount at which that system has discharged before, and its operator has not reported a discharge. This is an estimate, not a report.

  It does not mean a discharge happened, and it never replaces an official advisory or a reported discharge.

• End not confirmed shown as hatched line

  A discharge was reported, and we have not found an end time in the sources we track.

  This does not confirm that the discharge continues.

• Algal bloom advisory shown as plum line or filled water

  An official advisory about an algal bloom (cyanobacteria) is listed for this water. Open the report for its source, dates and advice.

  It is not a sewage discharge report, and it does not measure water quality at your location.

• Monthly report Monthly report: days with discharge, dates not given shown as dotted outline; an outlet as a dotted ring

  Only a monthly total is reported here: the number of days with a discharge in a month, not the dates. It sets no current status.

  It does not show when in the month the discharges happened, or that the water is affected now.

• No current status shown shown as hollow outline

  No current status is assigned to this water outline. Check the water page for reports and any estimated downstream stretches.

  No status does not mean the water is safe. Follow posted signs and local health advice.

• Source update overdue shown as purple hatching

  We have not received the expected update from a source that covers this water. Recent reports may be missing.

  It does not mean the source has stopped publishing; our latest check did not bring the expected update.

• Beach advisory or closure shown as a point in its status colour with a ring round it; on a water outline, a light line inside the colour

  An official beach, shellfish or rainfall advisory or closure. It is listed apart from sewage discharges and can be hidden with the Beach advisories switch.

• Estimated downstream stretch — not checked by water sampling

  Dashed river stretches show our estimate of the route below a reported discharge. A ring marks where the estimate stops: tidal water, a lake or the distance limit. It does not mark where contamination ends.

Some water outlines have no status. Open a water page to check its coverage and downstream stretches. How we assign statuses.

A grey water in a state without dated reports means no report, not no discharge. How each state reports.

DirtyWaterWatch tracks public reports. It does not test water or declare it safe. Missing reports and expired advisories do not establish water quality. Follow posted signs and local health advice.