Free state testing
Indiana's environment department tests eligible private wells for free. Check which tests it includes before you count on it for nitrate.
Indiana's private well pageNitrate in Indiana well water, by county
Nitrate is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 2 of the 7 Indiana counties with 10 or more tested wells. 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.
How Indiana compares with the rest of the country
Across Indiana, about 1 in 13 tested wells had nitrate over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L (16 of 205). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 12. Indiana is about average, so the county you live in tells you more than the state does.
Why it matters: It's dangerous for babies under 6 months, because it keeps their blood from carrying enough oxygen.
Nitrate soaks down into groundwater from fertilizer, manure and septic systems.
Nitrate in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA limit of 10 mg/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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County | 14 | Widespread | |
| Hancock County | 11 | Widespread | |
| Newton County | 17 | Worth checking | |
| Lake County | 37 | Worth checking | |
| Jasper County | 19 | Worth checking | |
| Porter County | 23 | Rare | |
| Montgomery County | 16 | Rare |
32 more Indiana counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for nitrate, too few to rate.
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Where to get your well tested for nitrate in Indiana
A lab Indiana certifies
Ask for nitrate 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 nitrate.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Indiana
- Well water testing in Indiana: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Nitrate in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Arsenic in Indiana wells, by county
- Uranium in Indiana wells, by county
- Manganese in Indiana wells, by county
- Lead in Indiana wells, by county
Questions people ask about nitrate in Indiana
Is there nitrate in Indiana well water?
Nitrate is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 2 of the 7 Indiana counties with 10 or more tested wells. Across Indiana, about 1 in 13 tested wells had nitrate over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L (16 of 205). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 12. Indiana is about average, so the county you live in tells you more than the state does.
Where can I get my well tested for nitrate 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 nitrate 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 limit of 10 mg/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.