Nitrate is widespread in Wayne County wells.
1 widespread, 1 worth checking, 4 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 14 wells tested in Wayne County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: radon (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 4 people 18,734 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 Wayne County compares with Indiana and the counties around it.
Each result puts Wayne County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Wayne County wells.
Nitrate4 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Darke, OH, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union.
This one is worth checking in Wayne County.
Arsenic2 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Darke, OH, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union.
These 4 are rare in Wayne County.
Manganese0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Darke, OH, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union.
Uranium0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Darke, OH, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union.
Lead0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Darke, OH, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union.
Fluoride0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Darke, OH, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union.
Too few Wayne County wells were tested for this one.
Radon in water5 wells tested
None of the 1 Wayne County wells tested for bacteria had it, but every well needs a yearly test.
Coliform bacteria0 of 1 wells had it
E. coli0 of 1 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Wayne County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 1 of 14 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains1 of 14 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Darke, OH, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union.
Most of the 14 wells tested in Wayne County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 14 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Wayne 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 Wayne County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- 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 83 feet.
That comes from 4,402 wells in Indiana's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 53 to 115 feet deep. Wells as deep as Wayne 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 are shallower than in 57 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 Wayne County.
Wayne 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 1 town water system in Wayne County test for PFAS. None found any. Only 1 well in Wayne 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 Wayne County
Is well water in Wayne County safe to drink?
4 of 14 wells tested in Wayne County had nitrate over the limit, about 3 in 10. Across Indiana it's about 1 in 13. That's the highest share among the 7 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 Wayne 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 and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Wayne County.
How deep are wells in Wayne County?
Half the wells on record here are shallower than 83 feet. Typical wells on record here are shallower than in 57 of the 87 other Indiana counties with enough drilling records.
How does Wayne County compare with the counties around it?
For nitrate, the share of tested wells over the limit: Preble, OH, the one neighbor with data, came in lower than Wayne County, at 0% against 29%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Preble, OH's 0% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Wayne County?
None of the 1 wells tested for bacteria in Wayne 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 Wayne County numbers come from
- People on wells: 18,734 in Wayne County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 154 well water samples from 14 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2020.
- Well depths: 7 Indiana drilling records for Wayne County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Wayne County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 1 town water systems in Wayne County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Wayne County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Indiana Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.