Free state testing
Indiana's environment department tests eligible private wells for free. Check which tests it includes before you count on it for lead.
Indiana's private well pageLead in Indiana well water, by county
Lead is rare in tested Indiana wells: in all 5 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. A county's share tells you how likely a problem is nearby. Only a test of your own well tells you what's in it.
These tests sample the groundwater, and lead rarely comes from the ground. In a home it mostly comes from plumbing: old solder, brass fittings and some older pumps. So a county's share can't tell you about your pipes. Test a first-draw sample, water that sat in the pipes overnight, from the tap you drink from.
How Indiana compares with the rest of the country
Across Indiana, none tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (0 of 144). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. No tested Indiana well was over, but your own well can still differ, so test it if you're unsure.
Why it matters: It harms children's growing brains. The CDC says no amount in a child's blood is known to be safe.
Lead in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L. Counties need 10 or more tested wells to be listed. Widespread means 15% or more, worth checking 5 to 15%, rare under 5%.
| County | Wells tested | Wells over the limit | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County | 31 | Rare | |
| Jasper County | 19 | Rare | |
| Montgomery County | 16 | Rare | |
| Newton County | 16 | Rare | |
| Wayne County | 14 | Rare |
29 more Indiana counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for lead, too few to rate.
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Where to get your well tested for lead in Indiana
A lab Indiana certifies
Ask for lead by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by IndianaA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include lead.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Indiana
- Well water testing in Indiana: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Lead in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in Indiana wells, by county
- Arsenic in Indiana wells, by county
- Uranium in Indiana wells, by county
- Manganese in Indiana wells, by county
Questions people ask about lead in Indiana
Is there lead in Indiana well water?
Lead is rare in tested Indiana wells: in all 5 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. Across Indiana, none tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (0 of 144). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. No tested Indiana well was over, but your own well can still differ, so test it if you're unsure.
Where can I get my well tested for lead in Indiana?
Indiana's environment department tests eligible private wells for free. If that doesn't cover you, use a lab certified by Indiana for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes lead from a certified lab.
See Indiana's list of certified labs, or compare mail-in kits.
Where these numbers come from
- Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000. A well counts as over if any of its tests was over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L. Wells tested for studies and monitoring, not a random sample of homes.
- Likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where. How we check.
- State programs and links: Indiana Department of Health.