Manganese and nitrate have turned up often in Lancaster County wells, mostly in older study samples.
2 likely overstated out of 2 health checks.
From 31 wells tested in Lancaster County since 2008; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
*Manganese and nitrate: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, mostly before 2013 in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates them.
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: arsenic (1), uranium (1), lead (1), fluoride (1).
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
About 1 in 16 people 20,133 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)
Likely here. Test your home's air first.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Lancaster County compares with Nebraska and the counties around it.
Each result puts Lancaster County next to the 8 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 have turned up often here, mostly in older study samples.
Manganese22 of 31 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Butler, Cass, Gage, Johnson, Otoe, Saline, Saunders.
All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, mostly before 2013 in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it.
Nitrate6 of 31 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Butler, Gage, Johnson, Otoe, Saline, Saunders.
All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, mostly before 2013 in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it.
Too few Lancaster County wells were tested for these 4.
Arsenic1 well tested
Uranium1 well tested
Lead1 well tested
Fluoride1 well tested
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Lancaster County wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 20 of 31 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains20 of 31 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Butler, Cass, Gage, Johnson, Otoe, Saline, Saunders.
Lancaster County has 31 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2010s.
None of the 31 wells has a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.
Most Lancaster 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 Lancaster County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Nebraska offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Nebraska. Nebraska's private well page
- Certified labsNebraska's list of certified labs
- Well recordsNebraska's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 164 feet.
That comes from 3,809 household wells in Nebraska's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 106 to 216 feet deep. Wells as deep as Lancaster 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 55 of the 92 other Nebraska counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Nebraska'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 Lancaster County.
Lancaster County is in the EPA's highest radon zone. Radon from well water adds to the radon in your indoor air, so test your air first, and your water too if the air is high. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 2 town water systems in Lancaster County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County
Is well water in Lancaster County safe to drink?
22 of 31 wells tested in Lancaster County had manganese over the limit, about 7 in 10. Across Nebraska it's about 2 in 10. We don't rank this against other Nebraska counties, because most of these tests are old study samples. All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, mostly before 2013 in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Lancaster County?
Use a lab Nebraska has certified for drinking water. Nebraska's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Lancaster County.
How deep are wells in Lancaster County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 164 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 55 of the 92 other Nebraska counties with enough drilling records.
How does Lancaster County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: Seward, the one neighbor with data, came in lower than Lancaster County, at 10% against 71%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Seward's 10% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Lancaster County?
Lancaster County has no public bacteria results for wells, so follow the CDC's advice: 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 Lancaster County numbers come from
- People on wells: 20,133 in Lancaster County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 684 well water samples from 31 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2008 to 2016.
- Well depths: 3,809 Nebraska drilling records for Lancaster County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 8 counties that share a border with Lancaster County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- Results marked likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 2 town water systems in Lancaster County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Lancaster County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Water, Energy, and Environment, checked November 1, 2026.