Your county health department
Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin's private well pageLead in Wisconsin well water, by county
Lead is worth checking in 1 of the 7 Wisconsin counties with 10 or more tested wells, and rare in the rest. 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.
These tests sample the groundwater, and lead rarely comes from the ground. In a home it mostly comes from plumbing: old solder, brass fittings and some older pumps. So a county's share can't tell you about your pipes. Test a first-draw sample, water that sat in the pipes overnight, from the tap you drink from.
How Wisconsin compares with the rest of the country
Across Wisconsin, 2 of 220 tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (2 of 220). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.
Why it matters: It harms children's growing brains. The CDC says no amount in a child's blood is known to be safe.
Lead in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA action level of 15 µg/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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dane County | 19 | Worth checking | |
| Portage County | 32 | Rare | |
| Waukesha County | 16 | Rare | |
| Waupaca County | 15 | Rare | |
| Shawano County | 13 | Rare | |
| Waushara County | 12 | Rare | |
| Marquette County | 10 | Rare |
* Likely overstated. These shares come from a narrow set of wells, so they probably run high for the county as a whole:
- Dane County: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so it may not match the rest of the county.
37 more Wisconsin counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for lead, too few to rate.
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Where to get your well tested for lead in Wisconsin
A lab Wisconsin certifies
Ask for lead by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by WisconsinA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include lead.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in Wisconsin
- Well water testing in Wisconsin: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Lead in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in Wisconsin wells, by county
- Arsenic in Wisconsin wells, by county
- Uranium in Wisconsin wells, by county
- Manganese in Wisconsin wells, by county
Questions people ask about lead in Wisconsin
Is there lead in Wisconsin well water?
Lead is worth checking in 1 of the 7 Wisconsin counties with 10 or more tested wells, and rare in the rest. Across Wisconsin, 2 of 220 tested wells had lead over the EPA action level of 15 µg/L (2 of 220). Across all tested wells in the US it's under 1 in 50. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.
Where can I get my well tested for lead in Wisconsin?
Use a lab certified by Wisconsin for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes lead from a certified lab. Some county health departments test wells too, so call yours first.
See Wisconsin's list of certified labs, or compare mail-in kits.
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 action level of 15 µg/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 Natural Resources (DNR).