Arsenic and manganese are worth checking in Apache County wells.
2 worth checking, 3 rare out of 5 health checks.
From 63 wells tested in Apache County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: uranium (9), radon (8).
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
8 in 10 people 54,146 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Deep wells: fewer surface germs, more minerals from the rock.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Possible here. A home air test is inexpensive.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Apache County compares with Arizona and the counties around it.
Each result puts Apache County next to the 9 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 are worth checking in Apache County.
Arsenic4 of 48 wells over
Manganese5 of 61 wells over
These 3 are rare in Apache County.
Nitrate0 of 55 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Catron, NM.
Fluoride0 of 48 wells over
Lead0 of 46 wells over
Too few Apache County wells were tested for these 2.
Uranium9 wells tested
Radon in water8 wells tested
None of the 4 Apache County wells tested for bacteria had it, but every well needs a yearly test.
Coliform bacteria0 of 4 wells had it
E. coli0 of 5 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Apache County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 17 of 58 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains17 of 58 wells had it
Apache County has 63 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2000s.
Only 15 of the 63 wells have a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.
Most Apache 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 Apache County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Arsenic
- Manganese
What Arizona offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Arizona. Arizona's private well page
- Certified labsArizona's list of certified labs
- Well recordsWe didn't find an online search.
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet.
That comes from 3,431 household wells in Arizona's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 120 to 400 feet deep. Wells as deep as Apache County's are usually better protected from fertilizer and bacteria at the surface, but they can pick up more of what's in the rock, like arsenic and uranium. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 7 of the 14 other Arizona counties with enough drilling records.
How to find your own well's depth
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Apache County.
Apache 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 3 town water systems in Apache County test for PFAS. 1 found some PFAS, all below the new limits. No well in Apache 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 Apache County
Is well water in Apache County safe to drink?
4 of 48 wells tested in Apache County had arsenic over the limit, about 1 in 12. Across Arizona it's about 1 in 4. That's a smaller share than in 13 of the 14 other Arizona counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for arsenic before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Apache County?
Use a lab Arizona has certified for drinking water. Arizona's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and manganese, the tests that matter most in Apache County.
How deep are wells in Apache County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 7 of the 14 other Arizona counties with enough drilling records.
How does Apache County compare with the counties around it?
For arsenic, the share of tested wells over the limit: 8 of the 9 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Apache County, at 8%. Montezuma, CO had the most, at 46%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Montezuma, CO's 46% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Apache County?
None of the 4 wells tested for bacteria in Apache County had it, but the CDC still says to 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 Apache County numbers come from
- People on wells: 54,146 in Apache County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 508 well water samples from 63 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2026.
- Well depths: 3,431 Arizona drilling records for Apache County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 9 counties that share a border with Apache County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 3 town water systems in Apache County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Apache County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health Services, checked November 1, 2026.