Manganese and uranium are widespread in Elbert County wells.
2 widespread, 1 worth checking, 4 rare out of 7 health checks.
From 30 wells tested in Elbert County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
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 19,684 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)
Likely here. Test your home's air first.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Elbert County compares with Colorado and the counties around it.
Each result puts Elbert County next to the 4 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 are widespread in Elbert County wells.
Manganese8 of 30 wells over
Too few tested to show: Lincoln.
Uranium7 of 29 wells over
Too few tested to show: Lincoln.
This one is worth checking in Elbert County.
Arsenic2 of 30 wells over
Too few tested to show: Lincoln.
These 4 are rare in Elbert County.
Nitrate1 of 30 wells over
Too few tested to show: Lincoln.
Radon in water0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Arapahoe, Lincoln.
Lead0 of 30 wells over
Too few tested to show: Lincoln.
None of the 1 Elbert County wells tested for bacteria had it, but every well needs a yearly test.
Coliform bacteria0 of 1 wells had it
E. coli0 of 1 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Elbert County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 6 of 30 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains6 of 30 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Lincoln.
Most of the 30 wells tested in Elbert County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 30 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Elbert 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 5 things to check in Elbert County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Uranium
- Arsenic
What Colorado offers well owners
- Free testingCDPHE offers free PFAS testing for private wells through its PFAS Testing and Assistance Program. See the program
- Certified labsColorado's list of certified labs
- Well recordsColorado's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 378 feet.
That comes from 8,864 household wells in Colorado's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 240 to 458 feet deep. Wells as deep as Elbert 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 61 of the 63 other Colorado counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Colorado'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 Elbert County.
Elbert County is in the EPA's highest radon zone. Radon from well water adds to the radon in your indoor air, so test your air first, and your water too if the air is high. Radon guide
Radon zones: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Questions people ask about well water in Elbert County
Is well water in Elbert County safe to drink?
8 of 30 wells tested in Elbert County had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 4. Across Colorado it's about 2 in 10. That's a bigger share than in 14 of the 19 other Colorado 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.
Can I get my well tested for free in Elbert County?
CDPHE offers free PFAS testing for private wells through its PFAS Testing and Assistance Program. If not, use a lab Colorado has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese, uranium and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Elbert County.
How deep are wells in Elbert County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 378 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 61 of the 63 other Colorado counties with enough drilling records.
How does Elbert County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 3 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Elbert County, at 27%. Arapahoe had the most, at 27%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Arapahoe's 27% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Elbert County?
None of the 1 wells tested for bacteria in Elbert 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 Elbert County numbers come from
- People on wells: 19,684 in Elbert County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 1,342 well water samples from 30 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2023.
- Well depths: 8,864 Colorado drilling records for Elbert County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 4 counties that share a border with Elbert County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- Radon: Elbert County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Public Health and Environment, checked November 1, 2026.