Nitrate is worth checking in Chatham County wells.
1 worth checking, 2 rare out of 3 health checks.
From 36 wells tested in Chatham County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: arsenic (4), uranium (2), radon (2), lead (4).
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
About 1 in 23 people 12,793 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Less likely, but the EPA still says test your air.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Chatham County compares with Georgia and the counties around it.
Each result puts Chatham County next to the 4 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is worth checking in Chatham County.
Nitrate4 of 32 wells over
These 2 are rare in Chatham County.
Manganese0 of 10 wells over
Fluoride0 of 10 wells over
Too few Chatham County wells were tested for these 4.
Arsenic4 wells tested
Uranium2 wells tested
Radon in water2 wells tested
Lead4 wells tested
None of the 2 Chatham 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 Chatham County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 0 of 10 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains0 of 10 wells had it
Most of the 36 wells tested in Chatham County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 36 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Chatham 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 Chatham County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Arsenic
What Georgia offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Georgia. Georgia's private well page
- Certified labsGeorgia's list of certified labs
- Well recordsWe didn't find an online search.
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Chatham County.
Chatham County is in the EPA's lowest radon zone, so radon from well water is unlikely to be a problem. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 16 town water systems in Chatham 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 6.7 ng/L of PFOS. No well in Chatham 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 Chatham County
Is well water in Chatham County safe to drink?
4 of 32 wells tested in Chatham County had nitrate over the limit, about 1 in 8. Across Georgia it's about 1 in 18. That's a bigger share than in 8 of the 13 other Georgia counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for nitrate before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Chatham County?
Use a lab Georgia has certified for drinking water. Georgia's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Chatham County.
How often should I test my well in Chatham County?
None of the 2 wells tested for bacteria in Chatham 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 Chatham County numbers come from
- People on wells: 12,793 in Chatham County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 141 well water samples from 36 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2017.
- Neighboring counties: the 4 counties that share a border with Chatham County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 16 town water systems in Chatham County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Chatham County is zone 3 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (labs certified by Environmental Protection Division), checked November 1, 2026.