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Lead in Texas well water, by county

By the Tested Water teamLab data from the USGS and EPA Water Quality Portal, 2000 to 2022Updated November 8, 2026

Lead is rare in tested Texas wells: in all 18 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. A county's share tells you how likely a problem is nearby. Only a test of your own well tells you what's in it.

Find a lead test See every county

These tests sample the groundwater, and lead rarely comes from the ground. In a home it mostly comes from plumbing: old solder, brass fittings and some older pumps. So a county's share can't tell you about your pipes. Test a first-draw sample, water that sat in the pipes overnight, from the tap you drink from.

How Texas compares with the rest of the country

Across Texas, 2 of 903 tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (2 of 903). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.

Why it matters: It harms children's growing brains. The CDC says no amount in a child's blood is known to be safe.

Lead in tested wells, county by county

Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L. Counties need 10 or more tested wells to be listed. Widespread means 15% or more, worth checking 5 to 15%, rare under 5%.

CountyWells testedWells over the limitLevel
Bexar County 103
0% 0 of 103
 Rare
Harris County 64
0% 0 of 64
 Rare
El Paso County 54
0% 0 of 54
 Rare
Pecos County 31
0% 0 of 31
 Rare
Hays County 29
0% 0 of 29
 Rare
Tarrant County 27
0% 0 of 27
 Rare
Travis County 27
0% 0 of 27
 Rare
Medina County 25
0% 0 of 25
 Rare
Comal County 24
0% 0 of 24
 Rare
Yoakum County 22
0% 0 of 22
 Rare
Montgomery County 20
0% 0 of 20
 Rare
Terry County 20
0% 0 of 20
 Rare
Uvalde County 20
0% 0 of 20
 Rare
Gaines County 19
0% 0 of 19
 Rare
Williamson County 19
0% 0 of 19
 Rare
Wilson County 15
0% 0 of 15
 Rare
Atascosa County 10
0% 0 of 10
 Rare
Lamb County 10
0% 0 of 10
 Rare

126 more Texas counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for lead, too few to rate.

Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0

Where to get your well tested for lead in Texas

1

Free testing, with limits

Texas A&M holds county well screenings around Texas, some free and some for a small fee. Check which tests it includes before you count on it for lead.

Texas's private well page
2

A lab Texas certifies

Ask for lead by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.

Labs certified by Texas
3

A mail-in kit

Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include lead.

Compare kits

Keep reading about wells in Texas

Questions people ask about lead in Texas

Is there lead in Texas well water?

Lead is rare in tested Texas wells: in all 18 counties with enough tests, fewer than 5% of tested wells were over the limit. Across Texas, 2 of 903 tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (2 of 903). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.

Where can I get my well tested for lead in Texas?

Texas A&M holds county well screenings around Texas, some free and some for a small fee. If that doesn't cover you, use a lab certified by Texas for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes lead from a certified lab.

See Texas's list of certified labs, or compare mail-in kits.

Where these numbers come from

  • Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000. A well counts as over if any of its tests was over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L. Wells tested for studies and monitoring, not a random sample of homes.
  • Likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where. How we check.
  • State programs and links: Texas Water Development Board and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).