Manganese in Pennsylvania well water
In Pennsylvania, 22% of 7,691 private wells tested between 2007 and 2025 had manganese above the EPA secondary standard (50 ug/L), according to the Penn State water testing lab.
Manganese stains fixtures and laundry above 50 ug/L. EPA's health advisory is 300 ug/L; infants are the most sensitive, and newer research links elevated manganese to neurological effects in children. It is one of the most common private well problems in New England.
Check your manganese number
Type the value from your lab report. It is compared to the EPA secondary standard and the EPA limit, the same way the full interpretation does it.
Test your Pennsylvania well for manganese
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
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Systems that remove manganese
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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 manganese
Iron and manganese oxidizing filter
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,800
Air-injection or greensand media; fixes staining at the source.
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 manganese in Pennsylvania: certified labs, state programs and prices.
By county, from homeowner tests
Share of private wells above the state guidance level (50 ug/L) in tests homeowners sent to the state lab, 2007 to 2025.
| County | Above state level | Wells tested | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 50 | 3,300 ug/L | |
| Somerset | 40 | 890 ug/L | |
| McKean | 115 | 2,410 ug/L | |
| Warren | 116 | 8130 ug/L | |
| Crawford | 68 | 1,330 ug/L | |
| Lawrence | 34 | 2,970 ug/L | |
| Montour | 34 | 3,420 ug/L | |
| Snyder | 78 | 1,420 ug/L | |
| Clearfield | 77 | 19,880 ug/L | |
| Armstrong | 40 | 6,590 ug/L | |
| Jefferson | 33 | 27,240 ug/L | |
| Venango | 63 | 6,190 ug/L | |
| Pike | 229 | 3,830 ug/L | |
| Erie | 60 | 550 ug/L | |
| Perry | 141 | 1,840 ug/L |
By county, from individual samples
Public monitoring samples against the EPA limit; counties with at least 30 samples.
| County | Above EPA limit | Samples | Detected | Median | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambria | no limit | 50 | 100% | 5,600 | 7,000 ug/L |
| Allegheny | no limit | 66 | 100% | 171 | 3,600 ug/L |
| Mercer | no limit | 105 | 100% | 49 | 1,400 ug/L |
| Philadelphia | no limit | 208 | 100% | 305 | 40,000 ug/L |
| Clearfield | no limit | 502 | 100% | 38,000 | 400,000 ug/L |
| Clarion | no limit | 1,261 | 98% | 42,000 | 800,000 ug/L |
| Crawford | no limit | 47 | 98% | 80 | 4,700 ug/L |
| Snyder | no limit | 35 | 97% | 20 | 710 ug/L |
| Warren | no limit | 34 | 97% | 318 | 439 ug/L |
| Fayette | no limit | 33 | 97% | 146 | 1,900 ug/L |
| Carbon | no limit | 56 | 96% | 12.4 | 130 ug/L |
| Lawrence | no limit | 55 | 96% | 156 | 770 ug/L |
| Luzerne | no limit | 85 | 95% | 60 | 87,000 ug/L |
| Lehigh | no limit | 97 | 95% | 0 | 700 ug/L |
| Greene | no limit | 57 | 95% | 50 | 21,000 ug/L |
- Wiconisco township, Dauphin County100% detected of 67
- Bensalem township, Bucks County100% detected of 120
- Palmyra township, Pike County100% detected of 30
- Marshall township, Allegheny County100% detected of 44
- Piney township, Clarion County100% detected of 589
- Kidder township, Carbon County100% detected of 50
- Philadelphia, Philadelphia County100% detected of 208
- Boggs township, Clearfield County100% detected of 436
- Monroe township, Clarion County100% detected of 522
- Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland County98% detected of 106
- Dingman township, Pike County98% detected of 51
- Tioga township, Tioga County98% detected of 44
- Jenks township, Forest County97% detected of 34
- New Milford township, Susquehanna County97% detected of 33
- Greene township, Franklin County97% detected of 96
- Charlestown township, Chester County96% detected of 48
- West Burlington township, Bradford County95% detected of 42
- Westfall township, Pike County95% detected of 39
- Ulysses township, Potter County94% detected of 52
- Letterkenny township, Franklin County93% detected of 91
Sources
- Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Lab drinking water summaries: County summaries of private water samples tested by the Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory since 2007, published by the College of Agricultural Sciences. Counts are samples, not distinct wells. Shares are against the standard the lab prints: the EPA maximum contaminant level, or the secondary standard for iron, manganese and chloride. Lead is the first-draw result. Medians printed as 0.00 are stored as null because the lab rounds to two decimals. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- Individual samples from the USGS Water Quality Portal and state monitoring, summarized per geography. manganese counts and shares are listed on each county and town page with their sources.