Your county health department
Nevada 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.
Nevada's private well pageArsenic in Nevada well water, by county
Arsenic is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 5 of the 9 Nevada counties with 10 or more tested wells. 2 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 Nevada compares with the rest of the country
Across Nevada, about 6 in 10 tested wells had arsenic over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L (234 of 417). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 9. So arsenic turns up in Nevada wells about 5 times 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: Drinking it for years raises the risk of skin, bladder and lung cancer.
Arsenic dissolves out of certain rocks and old sediments, so it can be high even where nobody has polluted anything.
Arsenic in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA limit of 10 µg/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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Churchill County | 177 | Widespread | |
| Douglas County | 16 | Widespread | |
| Lyon County | 11 | Widespread | |
| Washoe County | 68 | Widespread | |
| Carson City | 34 | Widespread | |
| Clark County | 29 | Widespread | |
| Humboldt County | 10 | Widespread | |
| Elko County | 14 | Worth checking | |
| White Pine County | 20 | Worth checking |
* Likely overstated. These shares come from a narrow set of wells, so they probably run high for the county as a whole:
- Churchill County: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, mostly before 2013, so this likely overstates it.
- Douglas County: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, mostly before 2013, so this likely overstates it.
8 more Nevada counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for arsenic, too few to rate.
Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0
Where to get your well tested for arsenic in Nevada
A lab Nevada certifies
Ask for arsenic by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by NevadaA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include arsenic.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Nevada
- Well water testing in Nevada: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Arsenic in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in Nevada wells, by county
- Uranium in Nevada wells, by county
- Manganese in Nevada wells, by county
- Lead in Nevada wells, by county
Questions people ask about arsenic in Nevada
Is there arsenic in Nevada well water?
Arsenic is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 5 of the 9 Nevada counties with 10 or more tested wells. 2 more look high, but those results likely overstate it. Across Nevada, about 6 in 10 tested wells had arsenic over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L (234 of 417). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 9. So arsenic turns up in Nevada wells about 5 times 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 arsenic in Nevada?
Use a lab certified by Nevada for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes arsenic from a certified lab. Some county health departments test wells too, so call yours first.
See Nevada'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 limit of 10 µg/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: Division of Environmental Protection.