Well water in Kenai Peninsula County, Alaska

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Testing strongly recommended

tested well samples in Kenai Peninsula County exceeded the EPA limit for arsenic (10 ug/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.

2,866 test results across 12 contaminants from at least 319 wells, 1948 to 2012; nitrate has the most at 470. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.

Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built

An estimated 36,090 people in Kenai Peninsula County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 62% of residents.

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Kenai Peninsula 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
Arsenic 1969 to 2012	37%	178	87%	4	220	10 ug/L EPA limit
Lead 1969 to 2012	3%	151	35%	0	4,000	15 ug/L EPA limit
Copper 1959 to 1999	<1%	150	57%	0	1.6	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1948 to 1999	<1%	470	79%	0.11	26.6	10 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1948 to 1999	0%	384	91%	0.1	3.5	4 mg/L EPA limit
Radium (226 + 228) 1999	0%	18	100%	0	0	5 pCi/L EPA limit
Iron 1948 to 1999	no limit	428	100%	540	560,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Chloride 1948 to 1999	no limit	392	100%	6	21,400	250 mg/L nuisance level
Sodium 1954 to 1999	no limit	392	100%	9.7	4,720	20 mg/L health guideline
Manganese 1954 to 1999	no limit	286	97%	130	8,870	300 ug/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Uranium (9), Radon (8).

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 address

What this means

The contaminants most often above their limit here are arsenic (37% of 178 samples), lead (3% of 151 samples), and copper (<1% of 150 samples). A well next door can differ sharply from yours because bedrock fractures, well depth and plumbing all matter, so these rates describe the area, not your tap.

Iron, Chloride, and Manganese 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 Kenai Peninsula County

1
Arsenic
37% of 178 local samples were above the limit.
2
Lead
3% of 151 local samples were above the limit.
3
Copper
<1% of 150 local samples were above the limit.
4
Nitrate
<1% of 470 local samples were above the limit.
5
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
6
Radon
Median local reading is 250 pCi/L.
7
Iron
Detected in 100% of local samples.
8
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
216 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
9
Metals panel
421 hazardous waste sites on record locally.

Test your Kenai Peninsula County well for arsenic, lead and copper

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

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 Kenai Peninsula County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.

Wells in Kenai Peninsula County

389 domestic wells in Kenai Peninsula County are on record with the state since 1971. 100% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 77 feet deep (one in ten goes past 243 feet).

In a typical Kenai Peninsula County well, bedrock starts about 34 feet down, the median yield is 15 gallons per minute, 4% 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.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

175

2020s

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 Kenai Peninsula County

Alaska DEC contaminated sites records 216 leaking underground storage tank sites and 421 hazardous waste sites in Kenai Peninsula County, among 637 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.

216: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
421: hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.

Treatment that fits the local profile

Arsenic

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange

Lead

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Certified lead-removal carbon filter; Neutralizing filter to raise pH and stop leaching

Copper

Neutralizing filter to raise pH; Point-of-use reverse osmosis

Nitrate

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation

Iron

Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration

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 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.

For lead

Aquasana Claryum 3-Stage under-sink filter

under-sink or countertop, about $175

Certified to NSF/ANSI 53 to reduce 99% of lead and 99.7% of PFOA and PFOS at the tap. Not a fix for arsenic, nitrate or bacteria.

For lead

Acid neutralizing filter

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,200

Raises pH so plumbing stops leaching lead and copper.

For iron

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.

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Common questions

How deep are wells in Kenai Peninsula County?

The typical domestic well in Kenai Peninsula County is 77 feet deep, based on 389 wells reported to the state since 1971. One in ten is deeper than 243 feet. 100% are drilled into bedrock.

Is there arsenic in well water in Kenai Peninsula County?

Arsenic was detected in 87% of 178 public well samples in Kenai Peninsula County, and 37% were above the EPA limit of 10 ug/L. Arsenic has no taste or smell; a lab test is the only way to know your level.

How often should I test a private well in Kenai Peninsula 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 Kenai Peninsula 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: 2,866 samples in Kenai Peninsula 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): 8,561 well records in Kenai Peninsula County, 389 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: 637 regulated sites located in Kenai Peninsula 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.