Iowa has free or low-cost well testing. Across the state, the ones worth testing for are manganese, nitrate and arsenic, plus bacteria every year.
About 687,000 people in Iowa get their water from a private well, about 2 in 10 residents.
Iowa's Private Well Grants program provides free testing for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, and manganese through participating county environmental health offices.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources: private well testingThe state's list of labs certified for drinking water. Many sell bottles you pick up or get by mail, and their results count for a home sale or loan.
Labs certified by IowaOrder online, fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and get results by email in about a week. Full well tests run about $210 to $220.
Compare kits for IowaShare of tested wells over the limit, from lab tests the USGS, EPA and state agencies collected since 2000. Your own well needs its own test.
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
10 counties have a full report with local test results and well depths.
No full report for that county yet. The statewide results above still apply, and so do the three ways to get tested.
| County | People on private wells | Share of residents | Typical well depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County | 21,693 | 14% | 263 ft |
| Pottawattamie County | 21,129 | 23% | 170 ft |
| Linn County | 20,996 | 9% | 227 ft |
| Polk County | 20,812 | 4% | 270 ft |
| Scott County | 18,981 | 11% | 232 ft |
| Dubuque County | 18,108 | 18% | 235 ft |
| Black Hawk County | 15,196 | 12% | 157 ft |
| Warren County | 13,634 | 26% | 49 ft |
| Clinton County | 13,313 | 29% | 195 ft |
| Woodbury County | 12,509 | 12% | 198 ft |
| Story County | 12,472 | 13% | 200 ft |
| Marion County | 11,250 | 34% | 173 ft |
| Dallas County | 11,083 | 11% | 144 ft |
| Lee County | 10,923 | 33% | 133 ft |
| Buchanan County | 10,352 | 50% | 186 ft |
| Bremer County | 10,167 | 41% | 140 ft |
| Benton County | 9,553 | 37% | 310 ft |
| Delaware County | 9,438 | 54% | 175 ft |
| Muscatine County | 9,276 | 21% | 190 ft |
| Winneshiek County | 9,267 | 46% | 340 ft |
| Jones County | 9,214 | 45% | 215 ft |
| Clayton County | 9,020 | 53% | 315 ft |
| Plymouth County | 8,850 | 34% | 242 ft |
| Cerro Gordo County | 8,610 | 20% | 232 ft |
| Webster County | 8,588 | 23% | 250 ft |
| Jasper County | 8,573 | 23% | 230 ft |
| Washington County | 8,494 | 38% | 174 ft |
| Jackson County | 8,434 | 43% | 215 ft |
| Fayette County | 7,924 | 41% | 180 ft |
| Sioux County | 7,911 | 22% | 290 ft |
| Des Moines County | 7,789 | 20% | 155 ft |
| Madison County | 7,571 | 46% | 40 ft |
| Harrison County | 7,552 | 52% | 150 ft |
| Cedar County | 7,384 | 40% | 195 ft |
| Boone County | 7,098 | 27% | 220 ft |
| Tama County | 7,090 | 41% | 288 ft |
| Davis County | 7,055 | 77% | 90 ft |
| Henry County | 6,984 | 34% | 214 ft |
| Allamakee County | 6,907 | 49% | 340 ft |
| Mills County | 6,893 | 48% | 158 ft |
| Wapello County | 6,726 | 19% | 112 ft |
| Lucas County | 6,617 | 77% | 178 ft |
| Iowa County | 6,603 | 40% | 205 ft |
| Floyd County | 6,355 | 41% | 184 ft |
| Butler County | 6,188 | 43% | 161 ft |
| Mahaska County | 6,123 | 28% | 185 ft |
| Poweshiek County | 5,832 | 31% | 240 ft |
| Van Buren County | 5,784 | 80% | 75 ft |
| Chickasaw County | 5,771 | 48% | 158 ft |
| Marshall County | 5,755 | 14% | 218 ft |
| Hardin County | 5,536 | 33% | 160 ft |
| Monroe County | 5,532 | 73% | 52 ft |
| Buena Vista County | 5,245 | 25% | 185 ft |
| Lyon County | 5,238 | 44% | 227 ft |
| Louisa County | 5,149 | 48% | 140 ft |
| Kossuth County | 5,141 | 35% | 187 ft |
| Carroll County | 5,125 | 25% | 160 ft |
| Wayne County | 5,022 | 77% | 54 ft |
| Appanoose County | 4,801 | 39% | 58 ft |
| Grundy County | 4,744 | 38% | 235 ft |
| Clay County | 4,730 | 29% | 184 ft |
| Mitchell County | 4,700 | 44% | 165 ft |
| Sac County | 4,689 | 48% | 216 ft |
| Jefferson County | 4,688 | 30% | 193 ft |
| Guthrie County | 4,667 | 44% | 145 ft |
| Keokuk County | 4,663 | 46% | 210 ft |
| Shelby County | 4,648 | 40% | 45 ft |
| Crawford County | 4,493 | 27% | 88 ft |
| Hamilton County | 4,301 | 29% | 244 ft |
| Franklin County | 4,263 | 43% | 140 ft |
| Howard County | 4,241 | 45% | 167 ft |
| Clarke County | 3,886 | 40% | 120 ft |
| Cass County | 3,840 | 29% | 155 ft |
| Hancock County | 3,818 | 35% | 150 ft |
| Decatur County | 3,647 | 48% | 45 ft |
| Cherokee County | 3,575 | 31% | 320 ft |
| Dickinson County | 3,535 | 20% | 125 ft |
| Calhoun County | 3,532 | 36% | 184 ft |
| Monona County | 3,498 | 40% | 100 ft |
| Worth County | 3,433 | 46% | 122 ft |
| Winnebago County | 3,427 | 32% | 165 ft |
| Page County | 3,372 | 22% | 52 ft |
| Taylor County | 3,324 | 56% | 62 ft |
| O'Brien County | 3,285 | 23% | 350 ft |
| Adair County | 3,269 | 44% | 63 ft |
| Ida County | 3,256 | 46% | 309 ft |
| Humboldt County | 3,252 | 34% | 155 ft |
| Greene County | 3,040 | 35% | 158 ft |
| Wright County | 2,945 | 23% | 155 ft |
| Union County | 2,723 | 22% | 32 ft |
| Audubon County | 2,661 | 47% | 55 ft |
| Fremont County | 2,600 | 39% | 80 ft |
| Montgomery County | 2,500 | 24% | 99 ft |
| Pocahontas County | 2,456 | 35% | 196 ft |
| Palo Alto County | 2,419 | 27% | 193 ft |
| Osceola County | 2,313 | 37% | 158 ft |
| Emmet County | 2,294 | 24% | 234 ft |
| Ringgold County | 2,112 | 45% | 46 ft |
| Adams County | 1,783 | 48% | 48 ft |
Iowa doesn't require routine testing of existing private wells. Keeping a well safe is up to the owner, so test for bacteria and nitrate every year.
Iowa's Private Well Grants program provides free testing for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, and manganese through participating county environmental health offices. Otherwise, use a lab certified by Iowa for drinking water. The state's list is linked on this page.