Free state testing
Iowa tests private wells for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and manganese for free through participating county health offices. Check which tests it includes before you count on it for lead.
Iowa's private well pageLead in Iowa well water, by county
Lead is rare in tested Iowa wells: in all 68 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 Iowa compares with the rest of the country
Across Iowa, none tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (0 of 1,415). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. No tested Iowa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County | 44 | Rare | |
| Linn County | 44 | Rare | |
| Woodbury County | 37 | Rare | |
| Carroll County | 31 | Rare | |
| Webster County | 31 | Rare | |
| Muscatine County | 30 | Rare | |
| Benton County | 29 | Rare | |
| Hamilton County | 29 | Rare | |
| Cherokee County | 27 | Rare | |
| Story County | 27 | Rare | |
| Jasper County | 26 | Rare | |
| Pottawattamie County | 26 | Rare | |
| Butler County | 25 | Rare | |
| Hardin County | 25 | Rare | |
| Winneshiek County | 25 | Rare | |
| Sioux County | 24 | Rare | |
| Clinton County | 23 | Rare | |
| Jackson County | 23 | Rare | |
| Mills County | 23 | Rare | |
| Black Hawk County | 22 | Rare | |
| Johnson County | 22 | Rare | |
| Tama County | 22 | Rare | |
| Buena Vista County | 21 | Rare | |
| Plymouth County | 21 | Rare | |
| Monona County | 20 | Rare | |
| Buchanan County | 19 | Rare | |
| Clayton County | 19 | Rare | |
| Dubuque County | 19 | Rare | |
| Guthrie County | 19 | Rare | |
| Harrison County | 19 | Rare | |
| Marshall County | 19 | Rare | |
| Louisa County | 18 | Rare | |
| Hancock County | 17 | Rare | |
| O'Brien County | 17 | Rare | |
| Sac County | 17 | Rare | |
| Scott County | 17 | Rare | |
| Audubon County | 16 | Rare | |
| Fayette County | 16 | Rare | |
| Palo Alto County | 16 | Rare | |
| Washington County | 16 | Rare | |
| Wright County | 16 | Rare | |
| Cass County | 15 | Rare | |
| Crawford County | 15 | Rare | |
| Fremont County | 15 | Rare | |
| Humboldt County | 15 | Rare | |
| Keokuk County | 15 | Rare | |
| Floyd County | 13 | Rare | |
| Grundy County | 13 | Rare | |
| Iowa County | 13 | Rare | |
| Mitchell County | 13 | Rare | |
| Montgomery County | 13 | Rare | |
| Polk County | 13 | Rare | |
| Shelby County | 13 | Rare | |
| Chickasaw County | 12 | Rare | |
| Greene County | 12 | Rare | |
| Kossuth County | 12 | Rare | |
| Lyon County | 12 | Rare | |
| Marion County | 12 | Rare | |
| Allamakee County | 11 | Rare | |
| Delaware County | 11 | Rare | |
| Emmet County | 11 | Rare | |
| Howard County | 11 | Rare | |
| Ida County | 11 | Rare | |
| Worth County | 11 | Rare | |
| Boone County | 10 | Rare | |
| Franklin County | 10 | Rare | |
| Henry County | 10 | Rare | |
| Jones County | 10 | Rare |
21 more Iowa 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 Iowa
A lab Iowa certifies
Ask for lead by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by IowaA 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 Iowa
- Well water testing in Iowa: 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 Iowa wells, by county
- Arsenic in Iowa wells, by county
- Manganese in Iowa wells, by county
Questions people ask about lead in Iowa
Is there lead in Iowa well water?
Lead is rare in tested Iowa wells: in all 68 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. Across Iowa, none tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (0 of 1,415). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. No tested Iowa 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 Iowa?
Iowa tests private wells for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and manganese for free through participating county health offices. If that doesn't cover you, use a lab certified by Iowa for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes lead from a certified lab.
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: Iowa Department of Natural Resources.