Well water in Denali County, Alaska
In Denali County, none of 40 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate, based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
The strongest signal is coliform bacteria: Recommended for every private well, every year, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
175 test results across 9 contaminants from at least 3 wells, 1981 to 1991; nitrate has the most at 40. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 1,459 people in Denali County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 76% of residents.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Denali County. Above limit means above the EPA maximum contaminant level; where EPA has no enforceable limit, the row shows a health guideline or nuisance level instead.
| Contaminant | Above limit | Samples | Detected | Median | Highest | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate 1990 to 1991 | 40 | 10% | 0 | 0.65 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1981 to 1991 | 21 | 14% | 0 | 1 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1990 to 1991 | 20 | 65% | 0.01 | 0.03 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Manganese 1981 to 1991 | no limit | 21 | 100% | 160 | 5,300 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Iron 1981 to 1991 | no limit | 21 | 100% | 270 | 13,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1981 to 1991 | no limit | 21 | 100% | 62 | 360 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Chloride 1981 to 1991 | no limit | 21 | 100% | 49 | 1,400 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Fluoride (8), Arsenic (2).
Closer than the county
See the sampled wells near your address
The same records, drawn around one point: which wells within a few miles were sampled and what they found, how deep the wells next to you were drilled, and any leaking tank or cleanup site within a mile.
Check my addressWhat this means
Among contaminants with a federal limit, no tested sample in Denali County came back above it. That is reassuring, but sampling is uneven: wells that were never tested are not in this data.
Manganese, Iron, and Chloride are widespread in local groundwater. They are mainly a staining and taste problem, but high manganese also carries a health advisory for infants.
What to test for in Denali County
- 1Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 2NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 3ManganeseDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 4IronDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 5ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 6FluorideDetected in 75% of local samples.
- 7CopperDetected in 65% of local samples.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)40 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- 9Metals panel91 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your Denali County well for coliform bacteria, nitrate and 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
Just want bacteria checked first? Tap Score coliform and E. coli test, $99. Coliform and E. coli are the tests every well needs every year.
Want a quick look before paying for a lab? Home well water test strips on Amazon check hardness, iron, pH and nitrate in minutes. They are a screen, not a result: arsenic, bacteria, uranium and PFAS need a certified lab.
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. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Where to get a well tested in Alaska: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Denali County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Denali County
36 domestic wells in Denali County are on record with the state since 1991. 100% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 124 feet deep (one in ten goes past 296 feet).
In a typical Denali County well, bedrock starts about 25 feet down, the median yield is 5 gallons per minute, 9% of wells yield under 3 gallons per minute and usually need a storage tank.
Bedrock wells are where arsenic, uranium and radon come from: the water sits in fractures in granite and metamorphic rock and picks up whatever the rock carries. That is why testing for those three matters more here than in a dug or gravel well.
Find your own well's report
The state keeps the driller's report for most wells drilled since 1984. It tells you how deep your well is, where bedrock starts, and how much water it makes, which decides what treatment can work.
- Open Alaska DNR WELTS and choose Water Well.
- It lists depth, static water level, yield, depth to bedrock and the driller.
Alaska well logs are voluntary in most of the state, so many wells have none.
Contamination sources on record in Denali County
Alaska DEC contaminated sites records 40 leaking underground storage tank sites and 91 hazardous waste sites in Denali County, among 131 regulated sites in total. Groundwater does not follow property lines, so a well within a few hundred feet of one of these is worth testing for what that site could release.
- 40
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 91
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
Treatment that fits the local profile
Manganese
Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
Iron
Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration
Chloride
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation
Systems we would look at first
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.
For chloride
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Denali County
No water treatment company serves Denali County through Well Water Nerd yet. We are signing licensed companies on county by county: they test at your tap for free, walk you through the numbers, and quote treatment only if something needs fixing. Leave your details and you are first in line. Nothing is shared until a company joins for Denali County, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Denali County?
The typical domestic well in Denali County is 124 feet deep, based on 36 wells reported to the state since 1991. One in ten is deeper than 296 feet. 100% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Denali County?
Test for bacteria and nitrate every year. Test once for arsenic, uranium, radon, fluoride, manganese and PFAS, then again every three to five years or after any change in taste, color, or plumbing.
Counties near Denali County
Closest first. Groundwater does not stop at a line on a map, so the next county over is a fair second opinion.
Want the numbers themselves? Download the Alaska dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 175 samples in Denali County. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Alaska DNR well log tracking system (WELTS): 355 well records in Denali County, 36 domestic. Well logs filed with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (WELTS). Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
- Alaska DEC contaminated sites: 131 regulated sites located in Denali County. Contaminated sites, including leaking tank sites, from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Non-detects count as samples and are treated as zero when computing medians. Exactly at the limit counts as not above it. A sample belongs to the town containing the well's reported coordinates.