Manganese is worth checking in Cattaraugus County wells.
1 worth checking, 6 rare out of 7 health checks.
From 26 wells tested in Cattaraugus County since 2006; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
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 2 people 37,937 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Middle depth: some shelter from the surface, not complete.
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 Cattaraugus County compares with New York and the counties around it.
Each result puts Cattaraugus County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is worth checking in Cattaraugus County.
Manganese3 of 26 wells over
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
These 6 are rare in Cattaraugus County.
Arsenic0 of 26 wells over
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
Nitrate0 of 26 wells over
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
Lead0 of 26 wells over
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
Radon in water0 of 26 wells over
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
Uranium0 of 26 wells over
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
Fluoride0 of 26 wells over
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
Coliform bacteria turned up in 8 of 26 tested Cattaraugus County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria8 of 26 wells had it
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
E. coli4 of 26 wells had it
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Cattaraugus County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 10 of 26 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains10 of 26 wells had it
Too few tested to show: McKean, PA, Warren, PA.
Cattaraugus County has 26 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2010s.
Only 7 of the 26 wells have a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.
Most Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus 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 100 feet.
That comes from 3,315 household wells in New York's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 60 to 140 feet deep. Wells as deep as Cattaraugus 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 are shallower than in 42 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 Cattaraugus County.
Cattaraugus 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 4 town water systems in Cattaraugus County test for PFAS. 1 found some PFAS, all below the new limits. No well in Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus County
Is well water in Cattaraugus County safe to drink?
3 of 26 wells tested in Cattaraugus County had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 9. Across New York it's about 1 in 7. That's a bigger share than in 32 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 Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus County.
How deep are wells in Cattaraugus County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 100 feet. Typical household wells here are shallower than in 42 of the 56 other New York counties with enough drilling records.
How does Cattaraugus County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 4 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Cattaraugus County, at 12%. Erie had the most, at 14%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Erie's 14% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Cattaraugus County?
In Cattaraugus County, 8 of 26 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.
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Where the Cattaraugus County numbers come from
- People on wells: 37,937 in Cattaraugus County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 261 well water samples from 26 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2006 to 2021.
- Well depths: 3,315 New York drilling records for Cattaraugus County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Cattaraugus County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 4 town water systems in Cattaraugus County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Cattaraugus County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.