Fluoride is worth checking in Santa Fe County wells.
1 worth checking, 5 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 22 wells tested in Santa Fe County since 2003; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: radon (4).
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 6 people 24,986 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 Santa Fe County compares with New Mexico and the counties around it.
Each result puts Santa Fe County next to the 7 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is worth checking in Santa Fe County.
Fluoride1 of 19 wells over
Too few tested to show: Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Torrance.
These 5 are rare in Santa Fe County.
Manganese1 of 21 wells over
Too few tested to show: Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Torrance.
Arsenic1 of 21 wells over
Too few tested to show: Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Torrance.
Uranium0 of 21 wells over
Too few tested to show: Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Torrance.
Nitrate0 of 18 wells over
Too few tested to show: Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Torrance.
Lead0 of 21 wells over
Too few tested to show: Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Torrance.
Too few Santa Fe County wells were tested for this one.
Radon in water4 wells tested
None of the 4 Santa Fe County wells tested for bacteria had it, but every well needs a yearly test.
Coliform bacteria0 of 4 wells had it
E. coli0 of 5 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Santa Fe County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 2 of 21 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains2 of 21 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Torrance.
Most of the 22 wells tested in Santa Fe County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 22 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Fluoride
- Arsenic
What New Mexico offers well owners
- Free testingNMED offers free well water screening at water fairs and limited free nitrate, iron and fluoride screening at some field offices; these do not replace certified lab tests. See the program
- Certified labsNew Mexico's list of certified labs
- Well recordsNew Mexico's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet.
That comes from 8,855 household wells in New Mexico's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 150 to 425 feet deep. Wells as deep as Santa Fe 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 28 of the 31 other New Mexico counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in New Mexico'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 Santa Fe County.
Santa Fe 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 5 town water systems in Santa Fe County test for PFAS. 2 found some PFAS, all below the new limits. Only 8 wells in Santa Fe County have 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 Santa Fe County
Is well water in Santa Fe County safe to drink?
1 of 19 wells tested in Santa Fe County had fluoride over the limit, about 1 in 19. Across New Mexico it's about 1 in 12. That's a bigger share than in 9 of the 14 other New Mexico counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for fluoride before you count on it.
Can I get my well tested for free in Santa Fe County?
NMED offers free well water screening at water fairs and limited free nitrate, iron and fluoride screening at some field offices; these do not replace certified lab tests. If not, use a lab New Mexico has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, fluoride and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Santa Fe County.
How deep are wells in Santa Fe County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 28 of the 31 other New Mexico counties with enough drilling records.
How does Santa Fe County compare with the counties around it?
For fluoride, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 3 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Santa Fe County, at 5%. Rio Arriba had the most, at 6%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Rio Arriba's 6% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Santa Fe County?
None of the 4 wells tested for bacteria in Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe County numbers come from
- People on wells: 24,986 in Santa Fe County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 157 well water samples from 22 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2003 to 2021.
- Well depths: 8,855 New Mexico drilling records for Santa Fe County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 7 counties that share a border with Santa Fe County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 5 town water systems in Santa Fe County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Santa Fe County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Environment Department, checked November 1, 2026.