Health problems are rare in tested Chautauqua County wells.

All 7 health checks came back rare here.

From 25 wells tested in Chautauqua County since 2006; your own well needs its own test. How to read this

Tested wells over the limit ChautauquaNew York

Manganese4%1 of 25 Arsenic4%1 of 25 Nitrate0%0 of 25 Lead0%0 of 25 Radon0%0 of 25 Uranium0%0 of 25 Fluoride0%0 of 25

GermsTest every year, whatever the chart says

Coliform bacteria32%8 of 25 E. coli4%1 of 25

StainsNot a health risk

Iron stains32%8 of 25

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 3 people 43,988 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)

LowMiddleHigh

Likely here. Test your home's air first.

Radon zones: EPA map

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

Each result puts Chautauqua County next to the 4 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.

All 7 health checks are rare in Chautauqua County.

Manganese1 of 25 wells over

1 of 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 was over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L, against about 1 in 7 across New York. Half the results were under 0.022 mg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 0.15 mg/L or more. That's a smaller share than in 35 of the 50 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells, leaving out 1 county whose results are likely overstated.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Erie14%

Cattaraugus12%

Chautauqua4%

Too few tested to show: Erie, PA, Warren, PA.

Manganese guide

Arsenic1 of 25 wells over

1 of 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 was over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L, against about 1 in 28 across New York. Half the results were under 0.3 µg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 3.5 µg/L or more. That's a bigger share than in 29 of the 49 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Chautauqua4%

Cattaraugus0%

Erie0%

Too few tested to show: Erie, PA, Warren, PA.

Arsenic guide

Nitrate0 of 25 wells over

None of the 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 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 1.6 mg/L or more. Chautauqua County had none, while 9 of the 51 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Cattaraugus0%

Chautauqua0%

Erie0%

Erie, PA0%

Too few tested to show: Warren, PA.

Nitrate guide

Lead0 of 25 wells over

None of the 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 were over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L, against about 1 in 40 across New York. Half the results were under 0.2 µg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 1.2 µg/L or more. Chautauqua County had none, while 3 of the 51 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Cattaraugus0%

Chautauqua0%

Erie0%

Too few tested to show: Erie, PA, Warren, PA.

Lead guide

Radon in water0 of 25 wells over

None of the 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 were over 4,000 pCi/L, a level the EPA proposed, against under 1 in 50 across New York. Half the results were under 480 pCi/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 850 pCi/L or more. Chautauqua County had none, while 7 of the 45 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Cattaraugus0%

Chautauqua0%

Erie0%

Too few tested to show: Erie, PA, Warren, PA.

Radon guide

Uranium0 of 25 wells over

None of the 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 were over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L, against under 1 in 100 across New York. Half the results were under 0.033 µg/L, and the top 1 in 10 were 0.33 µg/L or more. Chautauqua County had none, while 3 of the 46 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Cattaraugus0%

Chautauqua0%

Erie0%

Too few tested to show: Erie, PA, Warren, PA.

Uranium guide

Fluoride0 of 25 wells over

None of the 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 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 0.39 mg/L or more. Chautauqua County had none, while 2 of the 51 other New York counties with 10 or more tested wells had at least one.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Cattaraugus0%

Chautauqua0%

Erie0%

Too few tested to show: Erie, PA, Warren, PA.

Coliform bacteria turned up in 8 of 25 tested Chautauqua County wells, so test for it every year.

Coliform bacteria8 of 25 wells had it

About 1 in 3 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 had coliform bacteria, against about 1 in 4 across New York.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Erie, PA76%

Erie41%

Chautauqua32%

Cattaraugus31%

Too few tested to show: Warren, PA.

Bacteria guide

E. coli1 of 25 wells had it

1 of 25 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 had E. coli, against about 1 in 26 across New York.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Erie, PA18%

Cattaraugus15%

Chautauqua4%

Erie0%

Too few tested to show: Warren, PA.

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

Bacteria guide

Iron reached staining levels in 8 of 25 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.

Iron stains8 of 25 wells had it

About 1 in 3 wells tested here from 2006 to 2021 had enough iron to stain (0.3 mg/L), against about 4 in 10 across New York.

Chautauqua and its neighbors

Erie59%

Cattaraugus38%

Chautauqua32%

Too few tested to show: Erie, PA, Warren, PA.

Iron guide

Chautauqua County has 25 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2010s.

7 wells had a test in the 2000s, 14 in the 2010s and 4 since 2020.

Only 4 of the 25 wells have a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.

Most Chautauqua 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 3 things to check in Chautauqua County.

Bacteria
Nitrate
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 80 feet.

That comes from 3,259 household wells in New York's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 55 to 111 feet deep. Wells as deep as Chautauqua 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 47 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 Chautauqua County.

Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Chautauqua 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

Next door to Chautauqua County

Cattaraugus

Elsewhere in New York

Orange Ulster St. Lawrence Saratoga Oneida Oswego Rensselaer

All of New York

Questions people ask about well water in Chautauqua County

Is well water in Chautauqua County safe to drink?

Most tested wells in Chautauqua County came in under the limits. Of 7 health checks with enough tests, arsenic came closest, at 1 of 25 wells over. Every well is different, so test yours for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic.

Can I get my well tested for free in Chautauqua 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 and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Chautauqua County.

How deep are wells in Chautauqua County?

Half the household wells here are shallower than 80 feet. Typical household wells here are shallower than in 47 of the 56 other New York counties with enough drilling records.

How does Chautauqua County compare with the counties around it?

For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 2 of the 2 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Chautauqua County, at 4%. 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 Chautauqua County?

In Chautauqua County, 8 of 25 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 Chautauqua County numbers come from

People on wells: 43,988 in Chautauqua County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
Lab tests: 260 well water samples from 25 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2006 to 2021.
Well depths: 3,259 New York drilling records for Chautauqua County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
Neighboring counties: the 4 counties that share a border with Chautauqua County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
PFAS: EPA tests of 5 town water systems in Chautauqua County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
Radon: Chautauqua 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