Your county health department
Mississippi doesn't run a statewide free testing program that we know of. Some county health departments test wells or sell kits, so call yours first.
Mississippi's private well pageManganese in Mississippi well water, by county
Manganese is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 4 of the 6 Mississippi counties with 10 or more tested wells. 1 more look high, but those results likely overstate it. 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.
How Mississippi compares with the rest of the country
Across Mississippi, about 1 in 3 tested wells had manganese over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L (119 of 364). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 7. So manganese turns up in Mississippi wells about twice as often as in the country as a whole, and a test is worth adding even if your county isn't on the list below.
Why it matters: High levels over many years may affect the nervous system, and babies are more sensitive to it. It also leaves black stains.
Manganese dissolves out of rock and soil, especially in water with little oxygen.
Manganese in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunflower County | 15 | Widespread | |
| Washington County | 32 | Widespread | |
| Franklin County | 11 | Widespread | |
| Bolivar County | 15 | Widespread | |
| Leflore County | 23 | Widespread | |
| Harrison County | 128 | Rare |
* Likely overstated. These shares come from a narrow set of wells, so they probably run high for the county as a whole:
- Franklin County: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey between 2002 and 2002 in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it.
56 more Mississippi counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for manganese, too few to rate.
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Where to get your well tested for manganese in Mississippi
A lab Mississippi certifies
Ask for manganese by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by MississippiA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include manganese.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Mississippi
- Well water testing in Mississippi: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Manganese in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in Mississippi wells, by county
Questions people ask about manganese in Mississippi
Is there manganese in Mississippi well water?
Manganese is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 4 of the 6 Mississippi counties with 10 or more tested wells. 1 more look high, but those results likely overstate it. Across Mississippi, about 1 in 3 tested wells had manganese over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L (119 of 364). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 7. So manganese turns up in Mississippi wells about twice as often as in the country as a whole, and a test is worth adding even if your county isn't on the list below.
Where can I get my well tested for manganese in Mississippi?
Use a lab certified by Mississippi for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes manganese from a certified lab. Some county health departments test wells too, so call yours first.
See Mississippi's list of certified labs, or compare mail-in kits.
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 health advisory of 0.3 mg/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: Mississippi State Department of Health.