Your county health department
Utah doesn't run a statewide free testing program that we know of. Some county health departments test wells or sell kits, so call yours first.
Utah's private well pageManganese in Utah well water, by county
Manganese is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 5 of the 23 Utah counties with 10 or more tested wells. 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.
How Utah compares with the rest of the country
Across Utah, about 1 in 9 tested wells had manganese over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L (153 of 1,381). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 7. Utah is about average, so the county you live in tells you more than the state does.
Why it matters: High levels over many years may affect the nervous system, and babies are more sensitive to it. It also leaves black stains.
Manganese dissolves out of rock and soil, especially in water with little oxygen.
Manganese in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L. Counties need 10 or more tested wells to be listed. Widespread means 15% or more, worth checking 5 to 15%, rare under 5%.
| County | Wells tested | Wells over the limit | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davis County | 59 | Widespread | |
| San Juan County | 70 | Widespread | |
| Uintah County | 45 | Widespread | |
| Emery County | 13 | Widespread | |
| Salt Lake County | 226 | Widespread | |
| Beaver County | 61 | Worth checking | |
| Kane County | 12 | Worth checking | |
| Millard County | 98 | Worth checking | |
| Juab County | 28 | Worth checking | |
| Iron County | 107 | Worth checking | |
| Summit County | 37 | Worth checking | |
| Cache County | 20 | Worth checking | |
| Wasatch County | 23 | Rare | |
| Washington County | 72 | Rare | |
| Tooele County | 163 | Rare | |
| Utah County | 88 | Rare | |
| Box Elder County | 47 | Rare | |
| Grand County | 62 | Rare | |
| Morgan County | 51 | Rare | |
| Duchesne County | 24 | Rare | |
| Sanpete County | 24 | Rare | |
| Sevier County | 12 | Rare | |
| Wayne County | 11 | Rare |
* Likely overstated. These shares come from a narrow set of wells, so they probably run high for the county as a whole:
- Summit County: Almost all of these tests come from the US Geological Survey between 2000 and 2004 in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it.
5 more Utah counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for manganese, too few to rate.
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Where to get your well tested for manganese in Utah
A lab Utah certifies
Ask for manganese by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by UtahA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include manganese.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Utah
- Well water testing in Utah: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Manganese in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in Utah wells, by county
- Arsenic in Utah wells, by county
- Uranium in Utah wells, by county
- Lead in Utah wells, by county
Questions people ask about manganese in Utah
Is there manganese in Utah well water?
Manganese is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 5 of the 23 Utah counties with 10 or more tested wells. Across Utah, about 1 in 9 tested wells had manganese over the EPA health advisory of 0.3 mg/L (153 of 1,381). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 7. Utah is about average, so the county you live in tells you more than the state does.
Where can I get my well tested for manganese in Utah?
Use a lab certified by Utah for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes manganese from a certified lab. Some county health departments test wells too, so call yours first.
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 health advisory of 0.3 mg/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: Department of Health and Human Services (Utah Public Health Laboratory) and local health departments.