Arsenic in North Carolina well water
In North Carolina, 2% of 110,383 private wells tested between 1998 and 2019 had arsenic above the North Carolina groundwater standard (10 ug/L), according to the NC State Laboratory of Public Health (NCWELL).
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 North Carolina groundwater standard and the EPA limit, the same way the full interpretation does it.
Test your North Carolina 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 $209Already tested? Upload the report
Affiliate links: the merchant pays us a commission and the price is the same for you. It does not change what the data above says.
Systems that remove arsenic
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.
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 North Carolina: certified labs, state programs and prices.
By county, from homeowner tests
Share of private wells above the state guidance level (10 ug/L) in tests homeowners sent to the state lab, 1998 to 2019.
| County | Above state level | Wells tested | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | 5,154 | 303 ug/L | |
| Anson | 132 | 154 ug/L | |
| Stanly | 1,278 | 806 ug/L | |
| Montgomery | 576 | 133 ug/L | |
| Alexander | 272 | 175 ug/L | |
| Randolph | 2,619 | 106 ug/L | |
| Currituck | 1,130 | 130 ug/L | |
| Davidson | 697 | 100 ug/L | |
| Lincoln | 2,333 | 390 ug/L | |
| Lee | 278 | 29 ug/L | |
| Moore | 1,280 | 167 ug/L | |
| Cabarrus | 1,382 | 247 ug/L | |
| Cumberland | 2,044 | 161 ug/L | |
| Richmond | 524 | 101 ug/L | |
| Catawba | 1,567 | 388 ug/L |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craven | 62 | 53% | 0.115 | 36 ug/L | |
| Mecklenburg | 992 | 42% | 0 | 690 ug/L | |
| Rockingham | 48 | 27% | 0 | 24 ug/L | |
| Wake | 54 | 30% | 0 | 6 ug/L | |
| Orange | 33 | 21% | 0 | 4 ug/L | |
| Guilford | 33 | 15% | 0 | 2 ug/L | |
| Iredell | 47 | 11% | 0 | 1.4 ug/L | |
| Buncombe | 38 | 0% | 0 | 0 ug/L |
Sources
- NCWELL private well summaries: County summaries of private well tests run by the NC State Laboratory of Public Health, 1998 to 2019, compiled by the UNC Superfund Research Program (NCWELL database). Counts are tests, not distinct wells; since 2008 every new well is tested once, so most tests are unique wells. Shares are against the NC 2L groundwater standard where one exists (manganese 50 ug/L, lead 15, iron 300) and otherwise the EPA limit. Medians are not used because more than half of results sit at the reporting limit for most analytes. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
- 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.