Arsenic is widespread in Iron County wells.
1 widespread, 2 worth checking, 3 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 157 wells tested in Iron County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: radon (1).
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 5 people 10,792 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Possible here. A home air test is inexpensive.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Iron County compares with Utah and the counties around it.
Each result puts Iron County next to the 5 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Iron County wells.
Arsenic22 of 73 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Garfield, Lincoln, NV.
These 2 are worth checking in Iron County.
Manganese7 of 107 wells over
Too few tested to show: Garfield, Lincoln, NV.
Nitrate8 of 157 wells over
Too few tested to show: Garfield.
These 3 are rare in Iron County.
Fluoride2 of 89 wells over
Too few tested to show: Garfield, Lincoln, NV.
Lead0 of 32 wells over
Too few tested to show: Garfield, Kane, Lincoln, NV, Washington.
Uranium0 of 53 wells over
Too few tested to show: Garfield, Lincoln, NV.
Too few Iron County wells were tested for this one.
Radon in water1 well tested
Coliform bacteria turned up in 3 of 14 tested Iron County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria3 of 14 wells had it
E. coli0 of 1 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Iron County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 9 of 107 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains9 of 107 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Lincoln, NV.
Iron County has 157 tested wells, and the busiest decade for testing was the 2010s.
Only 21 of the 157 wells have a test from 2020 or later, so a fresh test of your own well tells you more than any of these.
Most Iron 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 Iron County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Arsenic
- Manganese
What Utah offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Utah. Utah's private well page
- Certified labsUtah's list of certified labs
- Well recordsUtah's well record search
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Iron County.
Iron 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 2 town water systems in Iron County test for PFAS. None found any. No well in Iron 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 Iron County
Is well water in Iron County safe to drink?
22 of 73 wells tested in Iron County had arsenic over the limit, about 3 in 10. Across Utah it's about 1 in 4. That's a bigger share than in 17 of the 21 other Utah counties with 10 or more tested wells, leaving out 2 counties whose results are likely overstated. So test your own well for arsenic before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Iron County?
Use a lab Utah has certified for drinking water. Utah's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and manganese, the tests that matter most in Iron County.
How does Iron County compare with the counties around it?
For arsenic, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 3 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Iron County, at 30%. Washington had the most, at 53%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Washington's 53% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Iron County?
In Iron County, 3 of 14 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 Iron County numbers come from
- People on wells: 10,792 in Iron County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 2,187 well water samples from 157 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2023.
- Neighboring counties: the 5 counties that share a border with Iron County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 2 town water systems in Iron County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Iron County is zone 2 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health and Human Services (Utah Public Health Laboratory) and local health departments, checked November 1, 2026.