Nitrate and manganese are widespread in Hampden County wells.
2 widespread, 4 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 11 wells tested in Hampden County since 2002; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: radon (3).
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 10 people 48,429 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)
Possible here. A home air test is inexpensive.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Hampden County compares with Massachusetts and the counties around it.
Each result puts Hampden County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 are widespread in Hampden County wells.
Nitrate3 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Berkshire, Hampshire, Worcester.
Manganese2 of 11 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Berkshire, Hampshire, Tolland, CT.
These 4 are rare in Hampden County.
Arsenic0 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Berkshire, Hampshire, Tolland, CT.
Uranium0 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Berkshire, Hampshire, Tolland, CT.
Lead0 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Berkshire, Hampshire, Tolland, CT.
Fluoride0 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Berkshire, Hampshire, Tolland, CT.
Too few Hampden County wells were tested for this one.
Radon in water3 wells tested
None of the 3 Hampden County wells tested for bacteria had it, but every well needs a yearly test.
Coliform bacteria0 of 3 wells had it
E. coli0 of 3 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Hampden County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 6 of 11 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains6 of 11 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Berkshire, Hampshire, Tolland, CT.
Hampden County has 11 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2000s.
None of the 11 wells has a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.
Most Hampden 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 4 things to check in Hampden County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Massachusetts offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Massachusetts. Massachusetts's private well page
- Certified labsMassachusetts's list of certified labs
- Well recordsMassachusetts's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 300 feet.
That comes from 5,956 household wells in Massachusetts's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 185 to 422 feet deep. Wells as deep as Hampden 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 household wells here go deeper than in 6 of the 13 other Massachusetts counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Massachusetts'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 Hampden County.
Hampden County is in the EPA's middle radon zone. An indoor air test is cheap and tells you whether to look at your water. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 12 town water systems in Hampden County test for PFAS. 1 found some PFAS, all below the new limits. No well in Hampden 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 Hampden County
Is well water in Hampden County safe to drink?
3 of 11 wells tested in Hampden County had nitrate over the limit, about 3 in 10. Across Massachusetts it's about 1 in 9. That's the highest share among the 4 Massachusetts counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for nitrate before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Hampden County?
Use a lab Massachusetts has certified for drinking water. Massachusetts's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Hampden County.
How deep are wells in Hampden County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 300 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 6 of the 13 other Massachusetts counties with enough drilling records.
How does Hampden County compare with the counties around it?
For nitrate, the share of tested wells over the limit: Hampden County, at 27%, had a higher share than all 3 neighboring counties with data. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Tolland, CT's 9% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Hampden County?
None of the 3 wells tested for bacteria in Hampden 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 Hampden County numbers come from
- People on wells: 48,429 in Hampden County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 222 well water samples from 11 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2002 to 2017.
- Well depths: 5,956 Massachusetts drilling records for Hampden County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Hampden County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 12 town water systems in Hampden County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Hampden County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), checked November 1, 2026.