Tested Water

Arsenic is worth checking in Citrus County wells.

1 worth checking, 4 rare out of 5 health checks.

From 101 wells tested in Citrus County since 2002; your own well needs its own test. How to read this

Tested wells over the limit CitrusFlorida
Arsenic6%1 of 17Nitrate1%1 of 78Manganese1%1 of 83Lead0%0 of 17Fluoride0%0 of 83
GermsTest every year, whatever the chart says
Coliform bacteria59%10 of 17E. coli0%0 of 9
StainsNot a health risk
Iron stains36%30 of 83

Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: uranium (1), radon (1).

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 3 people 56,288 people

Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.

People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate

Radon risk (a gas from rock)

Possible here. A home air test is inexpensive.

Radon zones: EPA map

Here's how Citrus County compares with Florida and the counties around it.

Each result puts Citrus County next to the 4 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.

This one is worth checking in Citrus County.

Arsenic1 of 17 wells over

1 of 17 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 was over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L, against about 1 in 9 across Florida. Half the results were under 0.49 µg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 3.9 µg/L or more. That's a bigger share than in 40 of the 63 other Florida counties with 10 or more tested wells.

Citrus and its neighbors
Levy31%
Hernando13%
Citrus6%
Sumter0%

These 4 are rare in Citrus County.

Nitrate1 of 78 wells over

1 of 78 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 was over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L, against about 1 in 32 across Florida. Half the results were under 0.2 mg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 0.86 mg/L or more. That's a bigger share than in 35 of the 59 other Florida counties with 10 or more tested wells.

Citrus and its neighbors
Levy6%
Citrus1%
Hernando0%
Sumter0%
Manganese1 of 83 wells over

1 of 83 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 was over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L, against under 1 in 100 across Florida. Half the results were under 0.0054 mg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 0.056 mg/L or more. That's a bigger share than in 52 of the 63 other Florida counties with 10 or more tested wells.

Citrus and its neighbors
Citrus1%
Hernando0%
Levy0%
Sumter0%
Lead0 of 17 wells over

None of the 17 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 were over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L, against about 1 in 9 across Florida. At least half the results were too low for the lab to measure, and the top 1 in 10 were 1.2 µg/L or more. Citrus County had none, while 35 of the 63 other Florida counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Citrus and its neighbors
Levy40%
Sumter7%
Citrus0%
Hernando0%
Fluoride0 of 83 wells over

None of the 83 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 were over the EPA limit of 4 mg/L, against under 1 in 50 across Florida. Half the results were under 0.09 mg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 0.15 mg/L or more. Citrus County had none, while 16 of the 63 other Florida counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Citrus and its neighbors
Levy3%
Citrus0%
Hernando0%
Sumter0%

Too few Citrus County wells were tested for these 2.

Uranium1 well tested

Only 1 well here was tested in 2002, too few to say how common it is. Across Florida it's under 1 in 100.

Radon in water1 well tested

Only 1 well here was tested in 2002, too few to say how common it is. Across Florida it's about 1 in 45.

Coliform bacteria turned up in 10 of 17 tested Citrus County wells, so test for it every year.

Coliform bacteria10 of 17 wells had it

About 6 in 10 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 had coliform bacteria, against about 5 in 10 across Florida.

Citrus and its neighbors
Hernando60%
Citrus59%
Sumter50%
Levy45%

Most of Florida's bacteria results come from shallow monitoring-network wells, so they aren't a guide to household wells.

E. coli0 of 9 wells had it

None of the 9 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 had E. coli, against about 1 in 12 across Florida.

E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Citrus County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.

Iron reached staining levels in 30 of 83 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.

Iron stains30 of 83 wells had it

About 1 in 3 wells tested here from 2002 to 2025 had enough iron to stain (0.3 mg/L), against about 4 in 10 across Florida.

Citrus and its neighbors
Sumter52%
Levy47%
Citrus36%
Hernando29%

About 7 in 10 of the 101 wells tested in Citrus County have a test from 2020 or later.

1 well had a test in the 2000s, 87 in the 2010s and 75 since 2020.

With 75 wells tested since 2020, age matters less here than who did the testing and why.

Most Citrus 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 Citrus County.

  • Bacteria
  • Nitrate
  • Arsenic

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, but Citrus County requires testing of new or repaired wells under a local rule.

Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Citrus County.

Citrus 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 10 town water systems in Citrus County test for PFAS. 3 of them had at least one test above 4 ng/L, the new EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS. The highest single result was 25 ng/L of PFOS. No well in Citrus 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

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Questions people ask about well water in Citrus County

Is well water in Citrus County safe to drink?

1 of 17 wells tested in Citrus County had arsenic over the limit, about 1 in 17. Across Florida it's about 1 in 9. That's a bigger share than in 40 of the 63 other Florida counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for arsenic before you count on it.

Can I get my well tested for free in Citrus 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 and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Citrus County.

How does Citrus County compare with the counties around it?

For arsenic, the share of tested wells over the limit: 2 of the 4 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Citrus County, at 6%. Levy had the most, at 31%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Levy's 31% is worth knowing about if you live near it.

How often should I test my well in Citrus County?

In Citrus County, 10 of 17 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 Citrus County numbers come from

  • People on wells: 56,288 in Citrus County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
  • Lab tests: 2,542 well water samples from 101 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2002 to 2025.
  • Neighboring counties: the 4 counties that share a border with Citrus County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
  • PFAS: EPA tests of 10 town water systems in Citrus County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
  • Radon: Citrus County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
  • State programs and links: Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.
One lab test covers what to check in Citrus CountyFind a lab test