Nitrate has turned up often in Meade County wells, mostly from one small area.
1 likely overstated, 1 worth checking, 1 rare out of 3 health checks.
From 16 wells tested in Meade County since 2005; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
*Nitrate: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so it may not match the rest of the county.
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: arsenic (3), uranium (2), lead (3).
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 7,776 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 Meade County compares with South Dakota and the counties around it.
Each result puts Meade County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one has turned up often here, mostly from one small area.
Nitrate3 of 16 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Butte, Haakon, Lawrence, Perkins, Ziebach.
All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so it may not match the rest of the county.
This one is worth checking in Meade County.
Manganese1 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Butte, Haakon, Lawrence, Perkins, Ziebach.
This one is rare in Meade County.
Fluoride0 of 11 wells over
Too few tested to show: Butte, Haakon, Lawrence, Perkins, Ziebach.
Too few Meade County wells were tested for these 3.
Arsenic3 wells tested
Uranium2 wells tested
Lead3 wells tested
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Meade County wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 1 of 11 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains1 of 11 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Butte, Haakon, Lawrence, Perkins, Ziebach.
Most of the 16 wells tested in Meade County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 16 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Meade 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 Meade County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What South Dakota offers well owners
- Free testingDANR points well owners to a free private well assessment, including water testing, offered by Midwest Assistance Program. See the program
- Certified labsSouth Dakota's list of certified labs
- Well recordsSouth Dakota's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 240 feet.
That comes from 1,595 household wells in South Dakota's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 44 to 400 feet deep. Wells as deep as Meade 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 43 of the 65 other South Dakota counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in South 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 Meade County.
Meade 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 4 town water systems in Meade County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Meade 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 Meade County
Is well water in Meade County safe to drink?
3 of 16 wells tested in Meade County had nitrate over the limit, about 2 in 10. Across South Dakota it's about 1 in 19. We don't rank this against other South Dakota counties, because most of these tests come from one small area. All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so it may not match the rest of the county. So test your own well for nitrate before you count on it.
Can I get my well tested for free in Meade County?
DANR points well owners to a free private well assessment, including water testing, offered by Midwest Assistance Program. If not, use a lab South Dakota has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Meade County.
How deep are wells in Meade County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 240 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 43 of the 65 other South Dakota counties with enough drilling records.
How does Meade County compare with the counties around it?
For nitrate, the share of tested wells over the limit: Pennington, the one neighbor with data, came in lower than Meade County, at 3% against 19%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Pennington's 3% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Meade County?
Meade 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 Meade County numbers come from
- People on wells: 7,776 in Meade County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 106 well water samples from 16 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2005 to 2021.
- Well depths: 1,595 South Dakota drilling records for Meade County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Meade County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- Results marked likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 4 town water systems in Meade County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Meade County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR), checked November 1, 2026.