Arsenic in New York well water

In New York, 2% of 5,099 tested private well samples exceeded the EPA limit for arsenic (10 ug/L).

Arsenic occurs naturally in New England bedrock and dissolves into well water. Long-term exposure raises the risk of bladder, lung and skin cancers, and is linked to heart disease and lower IQ in children. It has no taste or smell, so testing is the only way to know.

Check your arsenic number

Type the value from your lab report. It is compared to the EPA limit, the same way the full interpretation does it.

Test your New York well for arsenic

Certified lab analysis of your own tap water, bottles and prepaid return shipping included. The Essential well panel covers arsenic, uranium, nitrate, lead, copper, manganese, iron, sodium and bacteria; radon and PFAS are add-ons.

Order the Tap Score well water test kit, from $209 Already tested? Upload the report

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Systems that remove arsenic

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For arsenic

Under-sink reverse osmosis system

under-sink or countertop, about $300

Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.

For arsenic

Whole-house arsenic and uranium filter

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,500

Adsorptive iron-based media; sized to your well yield.

For arsenic

Aquasana SmartFlow reverse osmosis

under-sink or countertop, about $225

Certified to NSF/ANSI 58 and 53 to reduce arsenic (96%, pentavalent), fluoride (90%), lead (99%), nitrate, nitrite and PFOA/PFOS at the kitchen tap, with a remineralizer.

Rather have it installed and sized for your well? Book a free in-home water test with a licensed local company.

Where to get a well tested for arsenic in New York: certified labs, state programs and prices.

By county, from individual samples

Public monitoring samples against the EPA limit (10 ug/L); counties with at least 30 samples.

County	Above EPA limit	Samples	Detected	Median	Highest
Allegany	13%	39	97%	1	161 ug/L
Oneida	10%	48	65%	0.38	17.8 ug/L
Broome	7%	41	83%	0.9	19 ug/L
Ulster	6%	87	75%	0.25	25.9 ug/L
Westchester	5%	73	86%	1.1	32.3 ug/L
Saratoga	5%	77	56%	0.2	16 ug/L
Tompkins	4%	67	90%	0.43	20.4 ug/L
Oswego	3%	31	61%	0.3	17.8 ug/L
Sullivan	3%	33	91%	0.5	21 ug/L
Richmond	3%	68	74%	0.99	26 ug/L
Suffolk	2%	1,399	24%	0	38 ug/L
Erie	1%	162	19%	0	20 ug/L
Queens	<1%	683	40%	0	19.4 ug/L
Kings	<1%	318	27%	0	69 ug/L
Nassau	<1%	830	40%	0	64 ug/L

Yonkers, Westchester County8% of 49
Clifton Park, Saratoga County7% of 30
East Hampton, Suffolk County5% of 85
Babylon, Suffolk County3% of 225
Staten Island borough, Richmond County3% of 68
Sardinia, Erie County2% of 41
Brookhaven, Suffolk County2% of 311
Islip, Suffolk County1% of 304
Hempstead, Nassau County<1% of 505
Queens borough, Queens County<1% of 683
Brooklyn borough, Kings County<1% of 318
Wawarsing, Ulster County0% of 45
Manhattan borough, New York County0% of 33
Oyster Bay, Nassau County0% of 153
Riverhead, Suffolk County0% of 88
Southampton, Suffolk County0% of 76
Huntington, Suffolk County0% of 161
North Hempstead, Nassau County0% of 149
Concord, Erie County0% of 30
Smithtown, Suffolk County0% of 103

Sources

Individual samples from the USGS Water Quality Portal and state monitoring, summarized per geography. arsenic counts and shares are listed on each county and town page with their sources.

Analysis: Arsenic in private wells, state by state, from the same public records.