Only 2 health checks had enough tested wells in Columbia County, and both came back rare.
Both health checks came back rare here.
From 15 wells tested in Columbia County since 2002; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: arsenic (5), uranium (2), manganese (5), lead (5).
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 10 people 15,836 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 Columbia County compares with Georgia and the counties around it.
Each result puts Columbia County next to the 5 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
Both health checks are rare in Columbia County.
Nitrate0 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Edgefield, SC, Lincoln, McCormick, SC, McDuffie.
Fluoride0 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Edgefield, SC, Lincoln, McCormick, SC, McDuffie.
Too few Columbia County wells were tested for these 4.
Arsenic5 wells tested
Uranium2 wells tested
Manganese5 wells tested
Lead5 wells tested
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Columbia County wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 3 of 15 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains3 of 15 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Edgefield, SC, Lincoln, McCormick, SC, McDuffie.
Most of the 15 wells tested in Columbia County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 15 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Columbia 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 Columbia 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 Columbia County.
Columbia 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 1 town water system in Columbia County test for PFAS. 1 found some PFAS, all below the new limits. No well in Columbia 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 Columbia County
Is well water in Columbia County safe to drink?
Most tested wells in Columbia County came in under the limits. Of 2 health checks with enough tests, nitrate came closest, at 0 of 10 wells over. Every well is different, so test yours for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic.
Where can I get my well tested in Columbia 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 Columbia County.
How does Columbia County compare with the counties around it?
For nitrate, the share of tested wells over the limit: Richmond, the one neighbor with data, came in the same as Columbia County, at 0% against 0%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Richmond's 0% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Columbia County?
Columbia County has no public bacteria results for wells, so follow the CDC's advice: 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 Columbia County numbers come from
- People on wells: 15,836 in Columbia County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 130 well water samples from 15 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2002 to 2017.
- Neighboring counties: the 5 counties that share a border with Columbia County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 1 town water systems in Columbia County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Columbia 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.