Low-cost state testing
Arkansas's state health lab tests well water for bacteria for $17 a sample. Check which tests it includes before you count on it for nitrate.
Arkansas's private well pageNitrate in Arkansas well water, by county
Nitrate is rare in tested Arkansas wells: in all 5 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. A county's share tells you how likely a problem is nearby. Only a test of your own well tells you what's in it.
How Arkansas compares with the rest of the country
Across Arkansas, 2 of 312 tested wells had nitrate over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L (2 of 312). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 12. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.
Why it matters: It's dangerous for babies under 6 months, because it keeps their blood from carrying enough oxygen.
Nitrate soaks down into groundwater from fertilizer, manure and septic systems.
Nitrate in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L. Counties need 10 or more tested wells to be listed. Widespread means 15% or more, worth checking 5 to 15%, rare under 5%.
| County | Wells tested | Wells over the limit | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren County | 70 | Rare | |
| Faulkner County | 59 | Rare | |
| Union County | 17 | Rare | |
| Garland County | 12 | Rare | |
| White County | 10 | Rare |
50 more Arkansas counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for nitrate, too few to rate.
Download this table (CSV) ยท Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0
Where to get your well tested for nitrate in Arkansas
A lab Arkansas certifies
Ask for nitrate by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
How to find a certified labA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include nitrate.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Arkansas
- Well water testing in Arkansas: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Nitrate in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Arsenic in Arkansas wells, by county
- Uranium in Arkansas wells, by county
- Manganese in Arkansas wells, by county
- Lead in Arkansas wells, by county
Questions people ask about nitrate in Arkansas
Is there nitrate in Arkansas well water?
Nitrate is rare in tested Arkansas wells: in all 5 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. Across Arkansas, 2 of 312 tested wells had nitrate over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L (2 of 312). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 12. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.
Where can I get my well tested for nitrate in Arkansas?
Arkansas's state health lab tests well water for bacteria for $17 a sample. If that doesn't cover you, use a lab certified by Arkansas for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes nitrate from a certified lab.
Where these numbers come from
- Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000. A well counts as over if any of its tests was over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L. Wells tested for studies and monitoring, not a random sample of homes.
- Likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where. How we check.
- State programs and links: Department of Health.