Manganese is widespread in Bolivar County wells.
1 widespread, 1 worth checking out of 2 health checks.
From 15 wells tested in Bolivar County since 2005; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: nitrate (9), uranium (4), radon (3), lead (5), fluoride (7).
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 7 people 4,489 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 Bolivar County compares with Mississippi and the counties around it.
Each result puts Bolivar County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Bolivar County wells.
Manganese10 of 15 wells over
Too few tested to show: Chicot, AR, Coahoma, Desha, AR, Phillips, AR.
This one is worth checking in Bolivar County.
Arsenic1 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Chicot, AR, Coahoma, Desha, AR, Phillips, AR.
Too few Bolivar County wells were tested for these 5.
Nitrate9 wells tested
Uranium4 wells tested
Radon in water3 wells tested
Lead5 wells tested
Fluoride7 wells tested
None of the 3 Bolivar 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 Bolivar County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 11 of 15 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains11 of 15 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Chicot, AR, Coahoma, Desha, AR, Phillips, AR.
Bolivar County has 15 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2010s.
None of the 15 wells has a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.
Most Bolivar 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 Bolivar County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Mississippi offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Mississippi. Mississippi's private well page
- Certified labsMississippi's list of certified labs
- Well recordsWe didn't find an online search.
Half the household wells here are shallower than 520 feet.
That comes from 660 household wells in Mississippi's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 110 to 122 feet deep. Wells as deep as Bolivar 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 72 of the 81 other Mississippi counties with enough drilling records.
How to find your own well's depth
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Bolivar County.
Bolivar County 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 3 town water systems in Bolivar County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Bolivar 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 Bolivar County
Is well water in Bolivar County safe to drink?
10 of 15 wells tested in Bolivar County had manganese over the limit, about 2 in 3. Across Mississippi it's about 1 in 3. That's a bigger share than in 2 of the 4 other Mississippi counties with 10 or more tested wells, leaving out 1 county whose results are likely overstated. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Bolivar County?
Use a lab Mississippi has certified for drinking water. Mississippi's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Bolivar County.
How deep are wells in Bolivar County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 520 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 72 of the 81 other Mississippi counties with enough drilling records.
How does Bolivar County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 2 of the 2 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Bolivar County, at 67%. Sunflower had the most, at 100%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Sunflower's 100% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Bolivar County?
None of the 3 wells tested for bacteria in Bolivar 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 Bolivar County numbers come from
- People on wells: 4,489 in Bolivar County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 181 well water samples from 15 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2005 to 2019.
- Well depths: 660 Mississippi drilling records for Bolivar County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Bolivar County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 3 town water systems in Bolivar County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Bolivar County is zone 3 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Mississippi State Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.