Nitrate is widespread in Hancock County wells.
1 widespread, 1 worth checking, 1 rare out of 3 health checks.
From 11 wells tested in Hancock County since 2002; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: arsenic (2), uranium (2), lead (2).
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 4 people 20,414 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)
Likely here. Test your home's air first.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Hancock County compares with Indiana and the counties around it.
Each result puts Hancock County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Hancock County wells.
Nitrate2 of 11 wells over
This one is worth checking in Hancock County.
Manganese1 of 11 wells over
This one is rare in Hancock County.
Fluoride0 of 11 wells over
Too few Hancock County wells were tested for these 3.
Arsenic2 wells tested
Uranium2 wells tested
Lead2 wells tested
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Hancock County wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 2 of 11 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains2 of 11 wells had it
Most of the 11 wells tested in Hancock County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 11 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Hancock 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 4 things to check in Hancock County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Indiana offers well owners
- Free testingIDEM's Groundwater Monitoring Network offers free well water testing to eligible private residential wells (2026 announcement at events.in.gov/event/gwmn-welltesting-2026). See the program
- Certified labsIndiana's list of certified labs
- Well recordsIndiana's well record search
Half the wells on record here are shallower than 102 feet.
That comes from 7,720 wells in Indiana's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 69 to 135 feet deep. Wells as deep as Hancock 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 wells on record here go deeper than in 49 of the 87 other Indiana counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Indiana'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 Hancock County.
Hancock 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
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 2 town water systems in Hancock County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Hancock 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 Hancock County
Is well water in Hancock County safe to drink?
2 of 11 wells tested in Hancock County had nitrate over the limit, about 2 in 10. Across Indiana it's about 1 in 13. That's a bigger share than in 5 of the 6 other Indiana counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for nitrate before you count on it.
Can I get my well tested for free in Hancock County?
IDEM's Groundwater Monitoring Network offers free well water testing to eligible private residential wells (2026 announcement at events.in.gov/event/gwmn-welltesting-2026). If not, use a lab Indiana has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Hancock County.
How deep are wells in Hancock County?
Half the wells on record here are shallower than 102 feet. Typical wells on record here go deeper than in 49 of the 87 other Indiana counties with enough drilling records.
How often should I test my well in Hancock County?
Hancock 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 Hancock County numbers come from
- People on wells: 20,414 in Hancock County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 136 well water samples from 11 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2002 to 2023.
- Well depths: 12 Indiana drilling records for Hancock County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Hancock County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 2 town water systems in Hancock County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Hancock County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Indiana Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.