Well Water Nerd

Well water in Yakutat County, Alaska

In Yakutat County, none of 48 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for fluoride, 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.

242 test results across 6 contaminants from at least 17 wells, 1961 to 1991; fluoride has the most at 48. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.

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

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Yakutat 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.

ContaminantAbove limitSamplesDetectedMedianHighestLimit
Fluoride
1961 to 1991
4875%0.114 mg/L
EPA limit
Nitrate
1961 to 1991
4747%04.610 mg/L
EPA limit
Chloride
1961 to 1991
no limit48100%6580250 mg/L
nuisance level
Sodium
1961 to 1991
no limit43100%3.32120 mg/L
health guideline
Iron
1961 to 1991
no limit4295%953,100300 ug/L
nuisance level
Manganese
1961 to 1975
no limit14100%20470300 ug/L
health guideline

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.

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What this means

Among contaminants with a federal limit, no tested sample in Yakutat County came back above it. That is reassuring, but sampling is uneven: wells that were never tested are not in this data.

Chloride, Iron, 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 Yakutat County

  1. 1
    Coliform bacteria
    Recommended for every private well, every year.
  2. 2
    Nitrate
    Recommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
  3. 3
    Chloride
    Detected in 100% of local samples.
  4. 4
    Manganese
    Detected in 100% of local samples.
  5. 5
    Iron
    Detected in 95% of local samples.
  6. 6
    Fluoride
    Detected in 75% of local samples.
  7. 7
    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
    3 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
  8. 8
    Metals panel
    61 hazardous waste sites on record locally.

Test your Yakutat County well for coliform bacteria, nitrate and chloride

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

Contamination sources on record in Yakutat County

Alaska DEC contaminated sites records 3 leaking underground storage tank sites and 61 hazardous waste sites in Yakutat County, among 64 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.

3
leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
61
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

Systems we would look at first

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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.

Free, no obligation

Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Yakutat County

No water treatment company serves Yakutat 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 Yakutat County, and you get an email naming it first.

What are you worried about?

The test is free and there is no obligation. No company is named yet; your details stay with us until one joins for your area, and we log the time and address of this request.

Common questions

How often should I test a private well in Yakutat 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 Yakutat 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: 242 samples in Yakutat 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 DEC contaminated sites: 64 regulated sites located in Yakutat 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.