Only 1 health check had enough tested wells in Schuylkill County, and it came back rare.
The only health check here came back rare.
From 11 wells tested in Schuylkill County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: nitrate (8), arsenic (9), uranium (9), radon (9), lead (9), fluoride (9).
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 36,964 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Likely here. Test your home's air first.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Schuylkill County compares with Pennsylvania and the counties around it.
Each result puts Schuylkill County next to the 8 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
The only health check in Schuylkill County is rare.
Manganese0 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Carbon, Columbia, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne.
Too few Schuylkill County wells were tested for these 6.
Nitrate8 wells tested
Arsenic9 wells tested
Uranium9 wells tested
Radon in water9 wells tested
Lead9 wells tested
Fluoride9 wells tested
Coliform bacteria turned up in 3 of 9 tested Schuylkill County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria3 of 9 wells had it
E. coli0 of 9 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Schuylkill County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 2 of 11 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains2 of 11 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Carbon, Columbia, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne.
Most of the 11 wells tested in Schuylkill County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 11 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Schuylkill 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 Schuylkill County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Arsenic
What Pennsylvania offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's private well page
- Certified labsPennsylvania's list of certified labs
- Well recordsPennsylvania's well record search
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Schuylkill County.
Schuylkill 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 11 town water systems in Schuylkill 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 20 ng/L of PFOS. No well in Schuylkill 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 Schuylkill County
Is well water in Schuylkill County safe to drink?
Most tested wells in Schuylkill County came in under the limits. Of 1 health check with enough tests, manganese came closest, at 0 of 11 wells over. Every well is different, so test yours for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic.
Where can I get my well tested in Schuylkill County?
Use a lab Pennsylvania has certified for drinking water. Pennsylvania's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Schuylkill County.
How does Schuylkill County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 3 of the 3 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Schuylkill County, at 0%. Berks had the most, at 14%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Berks's 14% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Schuylkill County?
In Schuylkill County, 3 of 9 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 Schuylkill County numbers come from
- People on wells: 36,964 in Schuylkill County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 105 well water samples from 11 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2023.
- Neighboring counties: the 8 counties that share a border with Schuylkill County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 11 town water systems in Schuylkill County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Schuylkill County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Environmental Protection, checked November 1, 2026.