Manganese is worth checking in Virginia Beach city wells.
1 worth checking, 2 rare out of 3 health checks.
From 78 wells tested in Virginia Beach city since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: arsenic (1), uranium (1), lead (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
About 1 in 20 people 23,387 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Middle depth: some shelter from the surface, not complete.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Less likely, but the EPA still says test your air.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Virginia Beach city compares with Virginia and the counties around it.
Each result puts Virginia Beach city next to the 5 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is worth checking in Virginia Beach city.
Manganese11 of 78 wells over
Too few tested to show: Currituck, NC, Hampton city, Norfolk city.
These 2 are rare in Virginia Beach city.
Nitrate1 of 23 wells over
Too few tested to show: Currituck, NC, Hampton city, Norfolk city.
Fluoride0 of 78 wells over
Too few tested to show: Currituck, NC, Hampton city, Norfolk city.
Too few Virginia Beach city wells were tested for these 3.
Arsenic1 well tested
Uranium1 well tested
Lead1 well tested
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Virginia Beach city wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 65 of 78 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains65 of 78 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Currituck, NC, Hampton city, Norfolk city.
About 3 in 10 of the 78 wells tested in Virginia Beach city have a test from 2020 or later.
With 27 wells tested since 2020, age matters less here than who did the testing and why.
Most Virginia Beach city 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 Virginia Beach city.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Virginia offers well owners
- Free testingVirginia Cooperative Extension's Virginia Household Water Quality Program runs drinking water clinics in about 70 counties each year at $70 per kit, with financial help available through SERCAP. See the program
- Certified labsVirginia's list of certified labs
- Well recordsWe didn't find an online search.
- New wellsVirginia's Private Well Regulations (12VAC5-630) require newly constructed wells to be tested for coliform bacteria as a condition for use; testing at home purchase is not required by VDH.
Half the wells on record here are shallower than 85 feet.
That comes from 584 wells in Virginia's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 55 to 130 feet deep. Wells as deep as Virginia Beach city'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 wells on record here are shallower than in 97 of the 102 other Virginia counties with enough drilling records.
How to find your own well's depth
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Virginia Beach city.
Virginia Beach city is in the EPA's lowest radon zone, so radon from well water is unlikely to be a problem. Radon guide
Radon zones: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Questions people ask about well water in Virginia Beach city
Is well water in Virginia Beach city safe to drink?
11 of 78 wells tested in Virginia Beach city had manganese over the limit, about 1 in 7. Across Virginia it's about 1 in 10. That's a bigger share than in 8 of the 11 other Virginia counties with 10 or more tested wells, leaving out 1 county whose results are likely overstated. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Can I get my well tested for free in Virginia Beach city?
Virginia Cooperative Extension's Virginia Household Water Quality Program runs drinking water clinics in about 70 counties each year at $70 per kit, with financial help available through SERCAP. If not, use a lab Virginia has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Virginia Beach city.
How deep are wells in Virginia Beach city?
Half the wells on record here are shallower than 85 feet. Typical wells on record here are shallower than in 97 of the 102 other Virginia counties with enough drilling records.
How does Virginia Beach city compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 2 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Virginia Beach city, at 14%. Chesapeake city had the most, at 15%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Chesapeake city's 15% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Virginia Beach city?
Virginia Beach city 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 Virginia Beach city numbers come from
- People on wells: 23,387 in Virginia Beach city, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 727 well water samples from 78 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2023.
- Well depths: 9 Virginia drilling records for Virginia Beach city, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 5 counties that share a border with Virginia Beach city, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- Radon: Virginia Beach city is zone 3 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health (VDH), Office of Environmental Health Services, checked November 1, 2026.