Lead and arsenic are widespread in Alachua County wells.
2 widespread, 2 worth checking, 1 rare out of 5 health checks.
From 136 wells tested in Alachua County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: uranium (4), radon (3).
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 43,888 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Middle depth: some shelter from the surface, not complete.
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 Alachua County compares with Florida and the counties around it.
Each result puts Alachua County next to the 7 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 are widespread in Alachua County wells.
Lead16 of 100 wells over
Arsenic15 of 97 wells over
These 2 are worth checking in Alachua County.
Nitrate13 of 105 wells over
This one is rare in Alachua County.
Manganese2 of 93 wells over
Too few Alachua County wells were tested for these 2.
Uranium4 wells tested
Radon in water3 wells tested
Coliform bacteria turned up in 26 of 59 tested Alachua County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria26 of 59 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Bradford.
Most of Florida's bacteria results come from shallow monitoring-network wells, so they aren't a guide to household wells.
E. coli3 of 33 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Bradford, Putnam, Union.
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Alachua County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 42 of 113 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains42 of 113 wells had it
About 6 in 10 of the 136 wells tested in Alachua County have a test from 2020 or later.
With 80 wells tested since 2020, age matters less here than who did the testing and why.
Most Alachua 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 Alachua County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Lead
- Arsenic
- Fluoride
What Florida offers well owners
- Free testingSome county health departments may test for certain toxic substances free of charge. See the program
- Certified labsFlorida's list of certified labs
- Well recordsWe didn't find an online search.
- New wellsNo statewide rule. We didn't find a local rule for Alachua County, so ask its health department.
Half the household wells here are shallower than 110 feet.
That comes from 2,027 household wells in Florida's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 99 to 165 feet deep. Wells as deep as Alachua 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 are shallower than in 21 of the 29 other Florida 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 Alachua County.
Alachua 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 4 town water systems in Alachua County test for PFAS. 2 of them had at least one test above 4 ng/L, the new EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS. The highest single result was 4.8 ng/L of PFOA. No well in Alachua 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 Alachua County
Is well water in Alachua County safe to drink?
16 of 100 wells tested in Alachua County had lead over the limit, about 2 in 10. Across Florida it's about 1 in 9. That's a bigger share than in 51 of the 63 other Florida counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for lead before you count on it.
Can I get my well tested for free in Alachua County?
Some county health departments may test for certain toxic substances free of charge. If not, use a lab Florida has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, lead, arsenic and fluoride, the tests that matter most in Alachua County.
How deep are wells in Alachua County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 110 feet. Typical household wells here are shallower than in 21 of the 29 other Florida counties with enough drilling records.
How does Alachua County compare with the counties around it?
For lead, the share of tested wells over the limit: 5 of the 7 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Alachua County, at 16%. Bradford had the most, at 44%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Bradford's 44% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Alachua County?
In Alachua County, 26 of 59 tested wells had coliform bacteria, so the CDC's advice matters here: 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 Alachua County numbers come from
- People on wells: 43,888 in Alachua County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 3,737 well water samples from 136 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2026.
- Well depths: 2,027 Florida drilling records for Alachua County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 7 counties that share a border with Alachua County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 4 town water systems in Alachua County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Alachua County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.