Manganese and arsenic are worth checking in Saratoga County wells.
2 worth checking, 5 rare out of 7 health checks.
From 40 wells tested in Saratoga County since 2002; 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 4 people 56,807 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)
Possible here. A home air test is inexpensive.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Saratoga County compares with New York and the counties around it.
Each result puts Saratoga County next to the 8 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 are worth checking in Saratoga County.
Manganese4 of 40 wells over
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
Arsenic2 of 40 wells over
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
These 5 are rare in Saratoga County.
Nitrate1 of 40 wells over
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
Lead0 of 40 wells over
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
Radon in water0 of 39 wells over
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
Uranium0 of 40 wells over
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
Fluoride0 of 40 wells over
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
Coliform bacteria turned up in 2 of 39 tested Saratoga County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria2 of 39 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Montgomery, Schenectady.
E. coli0 of 39 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Montgomery, Schenectady.
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Saratoga County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 11 of 40 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains11 of 40 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Montgomery.
Most of the 40 wells tested in Saratoga County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 40 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Saratoga 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 Saratoga 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 200 feet.
That comes from 7,583 household wells in New York's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 77 to 328 feet deep. Wells as deep as Saratoga 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 38 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 Saratoga County.
Saratoga County is in the EPA's middle radon zone. An indoor air test is cheap and tells you whether to look at your water. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 14 town water systems in Saratoga County test for PFAS. 3 found some PFAS, all below the new limits. No well in Saratoga 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 Saratoga County
Is well water in Saratoga County safe to drink?
4 of 40 wells tested in Saratoga County had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 10. Across New York it's about 1 in 7. That's a bigger share than in 30 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 Saratoga 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 Saratoga County.
How deep are wells in Saratoga County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 200 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 38 of the 56 other New York counties with enough drilling records.
How does Saratoga County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 2 of the 7 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Saratoga County, at 10%. Rensselaer had the most, at 15%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Rensselaer's 15% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Saratoga County?
In Saratoga County, 2 of 39 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 Saratoga County numbers come from
- People on wells: 56,807 in Saratoga County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 484 well water samples from 40 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2002 to 2023.
- Well depths: 7,583 New York drilling records for Saratoga County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 8 counties that share a border with Saratoga County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 14 town water systems in Saratoga County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Saratoga County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health, checked November 1, 2026.