Manganese is widespread in Broome County wells.

1 widespread, 1 worth checking, 5 rare out of 7 health checks.

From 31 wells tested in Broome County since 2001; your own well needs its own test. How to read this

Tested wells over the limit BroomeNew York

Manganese26%8 of 31 Arsenic10%3 of 31 Nitrate0%0 of 30 Lead0%0 of 31 Radon0%0 of 15 Uranium0%0 of 31 Fluoride0%0 of 31

GermsTest every year, whatever the chart says

Coliform bacteria20%3 of 15 E. coli0%0 of 15

StainsNot a health risk

Iron stains19%6 of 31

Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+

Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)

Show bacteria and iron

Who drinks from a well here

1 in 4 people 44,279 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)

LowMiddleHigh

Likely here. Test your home's air first.

Radon zones: EPA map

Here's how Broome County compares with New York and the counties around it.

Each result puts Broome County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.

This one is widespread in Broome County wells.

Manganese8 of 31 wells over

About 1 in 4 wells tested here from 2001 to 2023 were over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L, against about 1 in 7 across New York. Half the results were under 0.091 mg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 1.2 mg/L or more. That's a bigger share than in 45 of the 50 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells, leaving out 1 county whose results are likely overstated.

Broome and its neighbors

Tioga31%

Broome26%

Chenango16%

Susquehanna, PA8%

Delaware4%

Wayne, PA1%

Cortland0%

Manganese guide

This one is worth checking in Broome County.

Arsenic3 of 31 wells over

3 of 31 wells tested here from 2001 to 2023 were over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L, against about 1 in 28 across New York. At least half the results were too low for the lab to measure, and the top 1 in 10 were 9.8 µg/L or more. That's a bigger share than in 46 of the 49 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells.

Broome and its neighbors

Tioga19%

Broome10%

Chenango5%

Wayne, PA4%

Susquehanna, PA4%

Cortland0%

Delaware0%

Arsenic guide

These 5 are rare in Broome County.

Nitrate0 of 30 wells over

None of the 30 wells tested here from 2001 to 2023 were over the EPA limit of 10 mg/L, against about 1 in 35 across New York. At least half the results were too low for the lab to measure, and the top 1 in 10 were 2.8 mg/L or more. Broome County had none, while 9 of the 51 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Broome and its neighbors

Cortland5%

Broome0%

Chenango0%

Delaware0%

Susquehanna, PA0%

Tioga0%

Wayne, PA0%

Nitrate guide

Lead0 of 31 wells over

None of the 31 wells tested here from 2001 to 2023 were over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L, against about 1 in 40 across New York. At least half the results were too low for the lab to measure, and the top 1 in 10 were 0.45 µg/L or more. Broome County had none, while 3 of the 51 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Broome and its neighbors

Broome0%

Chenango0%

Cortland0%

Delaware0%

Susquehanna, PA0%

Tioga0%

Wayne, PA0%

Lead guide

Radon in water0 of 15 wells over

None of the 15 wells tested here from 2001 to 2019 were over 4,000 pCi/L, a level the EPA proposed, against under 1 in 50 across New York. Half the results were under 560 pCi/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 1,150 pCi/L or more. Broome County had none, while 7 of the 45 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Broome and its neighbors

Wayne, PA13%

Broome0%

Chenango0%

Cortland0%

Delaware0%

Tioga0%

Too few tested to show: Susquehanna, PA.

Radon guide

Uranium0 of 31 wells over

None of the 31 wells tested here from 2001 to 2023 were over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L, against under 1 in 100 across New York. Half the results were under 0.19 µg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 1.1 µg/L or more. Broome County had none, while 3 of the 46 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Broome and its neighbors

Broome0%

Chenango0%

Cortland0%

Delaware0%

Susquehanna, PA0%

Tioga0%

Wayne, PA0%

Uranium guide

Fluoride0 of 31 wells over

None of the 31 wells tested here from 2001 to 2023 were over the EPA limit of 4 mg/L, against under 1 in 100 across New York. Half the results were under 0.1 mg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 0.27 mg/L or more. Broome County had none, while 2 of the 51 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Broome and its neighbors

Broome0%

Chenango0%

Cortland0%

Delaware0%

Susquehanna, PA0%

Tioga0%

Wayne, PA0%

Coliform bacteria turned up in 3 of 15 tested Broome County wells, so test for it every year.

Coliform bacteria3 of 15 wells had it

3 of 15 wells tested here from 2001 to 2019 had coliform bacteria, against about 1 in 4 across New York.

Broome and its neighbors

Wayne, PA32%

Delaware27%

Chenango21%

Broome20%

Tioga18%

Cortland0%

Too few tested to show: Susquehanna, PA.

Bacteria guide

E. coli0 of 15 wells had it

None of the 15 wells tested here from 2001 to 2019 had E. coli, against about 1 in 26 across New York.

Broome and its neighbors

Wayne, PA10%

Delaware6%

Broome0%

Chenango0%

Cortland0%

Tioga0%

Too few tested to show: Susquehanna, PA.

E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Broome County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.

Bacteria guide

Iron reached staining levels in 6 of 31 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.

Iron stains6 of 31 wells had it

About 2 in 10 wells tested here from 2001 to 2023 had enough iron to stain (0.3 mg/L), against about 4 in 10 across New York.

Broome and its neighbors

Tioga25%

Broome19%

Susquehanna, PA12%

Delaware11%

Chenango11%

Cortland11%

Wayne, PA9%

Iron guide

Broome County has 31 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2010s.

8 wells had a test in the 2000s, 24 in the 2010s and 1 since 2020.

Only 1 of the 31 wells have a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.

Most Broome 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 Broome County.

Bacteria
Nitrate
Manganese
Arsenic

What New York offers well owners

Free testingThe Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot Program offers limited free PFAS testing and treatment rebates in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester counties. See the program
Certified labsNew York's list of certified labs
Well recordsNew York's well record search

Half the household wells here are shallower than 160 feet.

That comes from 2,045 household wells in New York's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 125 to 220 feet deep. Wells as deep as Broome 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 30 of the 56 other New York counties with enough drilling records.

Look up your own well's depth in New York'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 Broome County.

Broome 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 Broome County test for PFAS. 2 of them had at least one test above 4 ng/L, the new EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS. The highest single result was 6.3 ng/L of PFOA. No well in Broome 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

Other counties in New York

Orange Ulster St. Lawrence Saratoga Oneida Oswego Rensselaer Steuben

All of New York

Questions people ask about well water in Broome County

Is well water in Broome County safe to drink?

8 of 31 wells tested in Broome County had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 4. Across New York it's about 1 in 7. That's a bigger share than in 45 of the 50 other New York 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.

Can I get my well tested for free in Broome County?

The Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot Program offers limited free PFAS testing and treatment rebates in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester counties. If not, use a lab New York has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Broome County.

How deep are wells in Broome County?

Half the household wells here are shallower than 160 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 30 of the 56 other New York counties with enough drilling records.

How does Broome County compare with the counties around it?

For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 6 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Broome County, at 26%. Tioga had the most, at 31%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Tioga's 31% is worth knowing about if you live near it.

How often should I test my well in Broome County?

In Broome County, 3 of 15 tested wells had coliform bacteria, so the CDC's advice matters here: test for bacteria and nitrate every year, and right away after a flood, a repair, or any change in taste or smell.

By the Tested Water teamData from the USGS, EPA and Department of HealthUpdated November 8, 2026

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Where the Broome County numbers come from

People on wells: 44,279 in Broome County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
Lab tests: 308 well water samples from 31 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2001 to 2023.
Well depths: 2,045 New York drilling records for Broome County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Broome County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
PFAS: EPA tests of 5 town water systems in Broome County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
Radon: Broome County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
State programs and links: Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.

Download this county's data (CSV)How we read these numbers Report an error