Manganese is worth checking in Summit County wells.
1 worth checking, 4 rare out of 5 health checks.
From 39 wells tested in Summit County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
*Manganese: 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.
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 7 people 5,714 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 Summit County compares with Utah and the counties around it.
Each result puts Summit County next to the 8 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is worth checking in Summit County.
Manganese2 of 37 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Daggett, Rich, Uinta, WY.
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.
These 4 are rare in Summit County.
Arsenic0 of 17 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Daggett, Rich, Uinta, WY.
Nitrate0 of 37 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Daggett, Rich.
Lead0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Daggett, Duchesne, Rich, Uinta, WY.
Fluoride0 of 37 wells over
Too few tested to show: Daggett, Morgan, Rich, Uinta, WY.
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Summit County wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 2 of 38 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains2 of 38 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Daggett, Rich, Uinta, WY.
Most of the 39 wells tested in Summit County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 39 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Summit 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 Summit County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
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 Summit County.
Summit 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 Summit County test for PFAS. 1 of them had at least one test above 4 ng/L, the new EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS. The highest single result was 6.7 ng/L of PFOS. No well in Summit 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 Summit County
Is well water in Summit County safe to drink?
2 of 37 wells tested in Summit County had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 18. Across Utah it's about 1 in 9. We don't rank this against other Utah counties, because most of these tests are old study samples. 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. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Summit 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, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Summit County.
How does Summit County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 2 of the 5 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Summit County, at 5%. Salt Lake had the most, at 19%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Salt Lake's 19% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Summit County?
Summit 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 Summit County numbers come from
- People on wells: 5,714 in Summit County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 192 well water samples from 39 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 Summit 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 Summit County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Summit 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.