Manganese is worth checking in Elmore County wells.
1 worth checking, 2 rare out of 3 health checks.
From 14 wells tested in Elmore County since 2001; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: arsenic (3), uranium (3), radon (1), lead (3).
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
1 in 4 people 22,409 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Possible here. A home air test is inexpensive.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Elmore County compares with Alabama and the counties around it.
Each result puts Elmore County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is worth checking in Elmore County.
Manganese1 of 13 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Autauga, Chilton, Coosa, Macon, Tallapoosa.
These 2 are rare in Elmore County.
Nitrate0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Autauga, Chilton, Coosa, Macon, Tallapoosa.
Fluoride0 of 13 wells over
Too few tested to show: Autauga, Chilton, Coosa, Macon, Tallapoosa.
Too few Elmore County wells were tested for these 4.
Arsenic3 wells tested
Uranium3 wells tested
Radon in water1 well tested
Lead3 wells tested
Coliform bacteria turned up in 2 of 3 tested Elmore County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria2 of 3 wells had it
E. coli0 of 3 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Elmore County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 3 of 13 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains3 of 13 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Autauga, Chilton, Coosa, Macon, Tallapoosa.
Most of the 14 wells tested in Elmore County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 14 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Elmore County wells in these records were tested for research or because someone suspected a problem, which can push the shares above what a typical home well would show (how we read the numbers).
One mail-in lab test covers the 4 things to check in Elmore County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Alabama offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Alabama. Alabama's private well page
- Certified labsAlabama's list of certified labs
- Well recordsWe didn't find an online search.
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Elmore County.
Elmore County is in the EPA's middle radon zone. An indoor air test is cheap and tells you whether to look at your water. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 9 town water systems in Elmore County test for PFAS. 7 of them had at least one test above 4 ng/L, the new EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS. The highest single result was 29 ng/L of PFOS. No well in Elmore County has public PFAS results, so the town systems are the best clue to what's in the groundwater nearby. PFAS guide
Radon zones: EPA Map of Radon Zones. PFAS: EPA tests of town water systems, 2023 to 2025
Questions people ask about well water in Elmore County
Is well water in Elmore County safe to drink?
1 of 13 wells tested in Elmore County had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 13. Across Alabama it's about 1 in 11. That's a smaller share than in 2 of the 3 other Alabama counties with 10 or more tested wells, leaving out 1 county whose results are likely overstated. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Elmore County?
Use a lab Alabama has certified for drinking water. Alabama's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Elmore County.
How does Elmore County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: Montgomery, the one neighbor with data, came in lower than Elmore County, at 7% against 8%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Montgomery's 7% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Elmore County?
In Elmore County, 2 of 3 tested wells had coliform bacteria, so the CDC's advice matters here: test for bacteria and nitrate every year, and right away after a flood, a repair, or any change in taste or smell.
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Where the Elmore County numbers come from
- People on wells: 22,409 in Elmore County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 69 well water samples from 14 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2001 to 2019.
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Elmore County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 9 town water systems in Elmore County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Elmore County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Public Health (county health departments); labs certified by Department of Environmental Management, checked November 1, 2026.