Manganese and arsenic are widespread in Morton County wells.
2 widespread, 1 worth checking, 1 rare out of 4 health checks.
From 12 wells tested in Morton County since 2001; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: nitrate (1), uranium (2).
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 5,871 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 Morton County compares with North Dakota and the counties around it.
Each result puts Morton County next to the 7 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 are widespread in Morton County wells.
Manganese3 of 12 wells over
Too few tested to show: Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Mercer, Oliver, Stark.
Arsenic2 of 12 wells over
Too few tested to show: Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Mercer, Oliver, Stark.
This one is worth checking in Morton County.
Fluoride1 of 12 wells over
Too few tested to show: Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Mercer, Oliver, Stark.
This one is rare in Morton County.
Lead0 of 12 wells over
Too few tested to show: Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Mercer, Oliver, Stark.
Too few Morton County wells were tested for these 2.
Nitrate1 well tested
Uranium2 wells tested
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Morton County wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 2 of 12 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains2 of 12 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Mercer, Oliver, Stark.
About 4 in 10 of the 12 wells tested in Morton County have a test from 2020 or later.
With 5 wells tested since 2020, age matters less here than who did the testing and why.
Most Morton 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 5 things to check in Morton County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
- Fluoride
What North Dakota offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of North Dakota. North Dakota's private well page
- Certified labsNorth Dakota's list of certified labs
- Well recordsNorth Dakota's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet.
That comes from 128 household wells in North Dakota's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 100 to 340 feet deep. Wells as deep as Morton 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. That's the deepest typical depth for household wells among the 25 North Dakota counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in North Dakota'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 Morton County.
Morton 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 2 town water systems in Morton County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Morton 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 Morton County
Is well water in Morton County safe to drink?
3 of 12 wells tested in Morton County had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 4. Across North Dakota it's about 4 in 10. That's a smaller share than in 6 of the 9 other North Dakota 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.
Where can I get my well tested in Morton County?
Use a lab North Dakota has certified for drinking water. North Dakota's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese, arsenic and fluoride, the tests that matter most in Morton County.
How deep are wells in Morton County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet. That's the deepest typical depth for household wells among the 25 North Dakota counties with enough drilling records.
How does Morton County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: Sioux, the one neighbor with data, came in lower than Morton County, at 5% against 25%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Sioux's 5% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Morton County?
Morton County has no public bacteria results for wells, so follow the CDC's advice: 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 Morton County numbers come from
- People on wells: 5,871 in Morton County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 138 well water samples from 12 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2001 to 2023.
- Well depths: 128 North Dakota drilling records for Morton County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 7 counties that share a border with Morton County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 2 town water systems in Morton County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Morton County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Environmental Quality, checked November 1, 2026.