Manganese is widespread in Hampshire County wells.
1 widespread, 1 worth checking, 4 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 16 wells tested in Hampshire County since 2001; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: uranium (2).
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
7 in 10 people 15,730 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Likely here. Test your home's air first.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Hampshire County compares with West Virginia and the counties around it.
Each result puts Hampshire County next to the 6 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Hampshire County wells.
Manganese7 of 16 wells over
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
This one is worth checking in Hampshire County.
Arsenic1 of 16 wells over
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
These 4 are rare in Hampshire County.
Lead0 of 16 wells over
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
Nitrate0 of 16 wells over
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
Fluoride0 of 16 wells over
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
Radon in water0 of 14 wells over
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
Too few Hampshire County wells were tested for this one.
Uranium2 wells tested
Coliform bacteria turned up in 7 of 14 tested Hampshire County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria7 of 14 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
E. coli2 of 14 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Hampshire County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 10 of 16 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains10 of 16 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Allegany, MD, Frederick, VA, Grant, Hardy.
Most of the 16 wells tested in Hampshire County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 16 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Hampshire 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 Hampshire County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What West Virginia offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of West Virginia. West Virginia's private well page
- Certified labsWest Virginia's list of certified labs
- Well recordsWe didn't find an online search.
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Hampshire County.
Hampshire County is in the EPA's highest radon zone. Radon from well water adds to the radon in your indoor air, so test your air first, and your water too if the air is high. Radon guide
Radon zones: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Questions people ask about well water in Hampshire County
Is well water in Hampshire County safe to drink?
7 of 16 wells tested in Hampshire County had manganese over the limit, about 4 in 10. Across West Virginia it's about 1 in 4. That's a bigger share than in 10 of the 12 other West Virginia counties with 10 or more tested wells. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Hampshire County?
Use a lab West Virginia has certified for drinking water. West Virginia's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Hampshire County.
How does Hampshire County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: Hampshire County, at 44%, had a higher share than all 2 neighboring counties with data. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Mineral's 40% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Hampshire County?
In Hampshire County, 7 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 Hampshire County numbers come from
- People on wells: 15,730 in Hampshire County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 140 well water samples from 16 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2001 to 2020.
- Neighboring counties: the 6 counties that share a border with Hampshire County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- Radon: Hampshire County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Department of Health, Office of Environmental Health Services, with local health departments, checked November 1, 2026.