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 uranium.
Arkansas's private well pageUranium in Arkansas well water, by county
Uranium is rare in tested Arkansas wells: in all 6 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, none tested wells had uranium over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L (0 of 320). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 22. No tested Arkansas well was over, but your own well can still differ, so test it if you're unsure.
Why it matters: Drinking it for years can harm your kidneys and raises the risk of cancer.
Uranium comes out of the rock and sediment the wells draw from.
Uranium in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA limit of 30 µg/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 | 72 | Rare | |
| Faulkner County | 58 | Rare | |
| Garland County | 25 | Rare | |
| Crawford County | 11 | Rare | |
| Union County | 11 | Rare | |
| White County | 10 | Rare |
48 more Arkansas counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for uranium, too few to rate.
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Where to get your well tested for uranium in Arkansas
A lab Arkansas certifies
Ask for uranium 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 uranium.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Arkansas
- Well water testing in Arkansas: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Uranium in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in Arkansas wells, by county
- Arsenic in Arkansas wells, by county
- Manganese in Arkansas wells, by county
- Lead in Arkansas wells, by county
Questions people ask about uranium in Arkansas
Is there uranium in Arkansas well water?
Uranium is rare in tested Arkansas wells: in all 6 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. Across Arkansas, none tested wells had uranium over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L (0 of 320). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 22. No tested Arkansas well was over, but your own well can still differ, so test it if you're unsure.
Where can I get my well tested for uranium 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 uranium 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 30 µg/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.