Health problems are rare in tested Sharp County wells.
All 4 health checks came back rare here.
From 23 wells tested in Sharp County since 2002; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: nitrate (2), uranium (2), radon (2).
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 6 people 2,751 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 Sharp County compares with Arkansas and the counties around it.
Each result puts Sharp County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
All 4 health checks are rare in Sharp County.
Manganese0 of 23 wells over
Too few tested to show: Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Oregon, MO, Randolph.
Arsenic0 of 20 wells over
Too few tested to show: Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Oregon, MO, Randolph.
Lead0 of 20 wells over
Too few tested to show: Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Oregon, MO, Randolph.
Fluoride0 of 23 wells over
Too few tested to show: Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Oregon, MO, Randolph.
Too few Sharp County wells were tested for these 3.
Nitrate2 wells tested
Uranium2 wells tested
Radon in water2 wells tested
None of the 2 Sharp County wells tested for bacteria had it, but every well needs a yearly test.
Coliform bacteria0 of 2 wells had it
E. coli0 of 2 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Sharp County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 1 of 23 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains1 of 23 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Oregon, MO, Randolph.
Most of the 23 wells tested in Sharp County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 23 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Sharp 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 3 things to check in Sharp County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Arsenic
What Arkansas offers well owners
- Free testingThe state Public Health Laboratory tests private well samples for total coliform and E. coli for $17 per sample, with kits from local health units. See the program
- Certified labsWe didn't find an online list.
- Well recordsArkansas's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 320 feet.
That comes from 503 household wells in Arkansas's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 220 to 503 feet deep. Wells as deep as Sharp 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 50 of the 60 other Arkansas counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Arkansas's well record search, or see how to find it.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Sharp County.
Sharp 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 1 town water system in Sharp County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Sharp 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 Sharp County
Is well water in Sharp County safe to drink?
Most tested wells in Sharp County came in under the limits. Of 4 health checks with enough tests, arsenic came closest, at 0 of 20 wells over. Every well is different, so test yours for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic.
Can I get my well tested for free in Sharp County?
The state Public Health Laboratory tests private well samples for total coliform and E. coli for $17 per sample, with kits from local health units. If not, use a lab Arkansas has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Sharp County.
How deep are wells in Sharp County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 320 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 50 of the 60 other Arkansas counties with enough drilling records.
How does Sharp County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: Fulton, the one neighbor with data, came in the same as Sharp County, at 0% against 0%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Fulton's 0% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Sharp County?
None of the 2 wells tested for bacteria in Sharp 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 Sharp County numbers come from
- People on wells: 2,751 in Sharp County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 264 well water samples from 23 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2002 to 2016.
- Well depths: 503 Arkansas drilling records for Sharp County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Sharp County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 1 town water systems in Sharp County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Sharp County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.