Manganese is widespread in Calcasieu Parish wells.
1 widespread, 1 rare out of 2 health checks.
From 14 wells tested in Calcasieu Parish since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: nitrate (9), arsenic (9), uranium (9), radon (3), lead (9).
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 6 people 39,244 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Deep wells: fewer surface germs, more minerals from the rock.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Less likely, but the EPA still says test your air.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Calcasieu Parish compares with Louisiana and the counties around it.
Each result puts Calcasieu Parish next to the 5 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Calcasieu Parish wells.
Manganese5 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Cameron, Newton, TX, Orange, TX.
This one is rare in Calcasieu Parish.
Fluoride0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Cameron, Newton, TX, Orange, TX.
Too few Calcasieu Parish wells were tested for these 5.
Nitrate9 wells tested
Arsenic9 wells tested
Uranium9 wells tested
Radon in water3 wells tested
Lead9 wells tested
Coliform bacteria turned up in 1 of 6 tested Calcasieu Parish wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria1 of 6 wells had it
E. coli0 of 6 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Calcasieu Parish well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 9 of 14 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains9 of 14 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Cameron, Newton, TX, Orange, TX.
About 4 in 10 of the 14 wells tested in Calcasieu Parish have a test from 2020 or later.
With 5 wells tested since 2020, age matters less here than who did the testing and why.
Most Calcasieu Parish 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 4 things to check in Calcasieu Parish.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Louisiana offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Louisiana. Louisiana's private well page
- Certified labsWe didn't find an online list.
- Well recordsLouisiana's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 240 feet.
That comes from 6,464 household wells in Louisiana's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 193 to 310 feet deep. Wells as deep as Calcasieu Parish'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 household wells here go deeper than in 46 of the 57 other Louisiana counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Louisiana'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 Calcasieu Parish.
Calcasieu Parish is in the EPA's lowest radon zone, so radon from well water is unlikely to be a problem. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 13 town water systems in Calcasieu Parish test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Calcasieu Parish 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 Calcasieu Parish
Is well water in Calcasieu Parish safe to drink?
5 of 14 wells tested in Calcasieu Parish had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 3. Across Louisiana it's about 2 in 10. That's a bigger share than in 18 of the 23 other Louisiana counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Calcasieu Parish?
Use a lab Louisiana has certified for drinking water. Louisiana's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Calcasieu Parish.
How deep are wells in Calcasieu Parish?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 240 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 46 of the 57 other Louisiana counties with enough drilling records.
How does Calcasieu Parish compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 2 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Calcasieu Parish, at 36%. Jefferson Davis had the most, at 50%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Jefferson Davis's 50% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Calcasieu Parish?
In Calcasieu Parish, 1 of 6 tested wells had coliform bacteria, so the CDC's advice matters here: test for bacteria and nitrate every year, and right away after a flood, a repair, or any change in taste or smell.
If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. We'd recommend the same thing either way, and we'll tell you when a free option exists. How we make money
Where the Calcasieu Parish numbers come from
- People on wells: 39,244 in Calcasieu Parish, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 215 well water samples from 14 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2020.
- Well depths: 6,464 Louisiana drilling records for Calcasieu Parish, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 5 counties that share a border with Calcasieu Parish, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 13 town water systems in Calcasieu Parish under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Calcasieu Parish is zone 3 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Louisiana Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.