Well water in Yavapai County, Arizona

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Testing strongly recommended

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

10,282 test results across 14 contaminants from at least 1,263 wells, 1936 to 2026; fluoride has the most at 1,773. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

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

An estimated 24,390 people in Yavapai County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 11% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 16% of the 24,390 people on private wells in Yavapai County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 13% to 18%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Yavapai 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 1963 to 2025	45%	884	73%	8	2,300	10 ug/L EPA limit
PFOA 2022 to 2026	27%	116	42%	0	140	4 ng/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1956 to 2026	6%	1,512	90%	1.2	50.3	10 mg/L EPA limit
Uranium 1981 to 2025	3%	61	82%	1.3	86	30 ug/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1942 to 2025	2%	1,773	96%	0.4	22.5	4 mg/L EPA limit
Lead 1971 to 2025	1%	607	22%	0	256	15 ug/L EPA limit
Radium (226 + 228) 1979 to 2025	1%	142	30%	0	6.3	5 pCi/L EPA limit
Copper 1963 to 2025	<1%	628	42%	0	1.5	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Chloride 1936 to 2026	no limit	1,228	99%	23	3,530	250 mg/L nuisance level
Sodium 1936 to 2025	no limit	1,157	100%	26	2,700	20 mg/L health guideline
Iron 1957 to 2025	no limit	1,059	43%	0	358,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1959 to 2025	no limit	1,016	38%	0	12,000	300 ug/L health guideline
Radon 1995 to 2018	no limit	97	100%	322	2,641	2,000 pCi/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: E. coli (2).

Over time

Share of samples above the limit by period. A cell needs ten samples to show; a comparison needs twenty in each period. Later periods sample fewer wells, and often the ones already known to have a problem.

Contaminant	before 2000	2000s	2010s	2020s
Fluoride	2%1,429 samples	4%249 samples	5%38 samples	0%57 samples
Nitrate	6%1,152 samples	4%179 samples	2%49 samples	11%132 samples
Arsenic	56%575 samples	21%214 samples	63%38 samples	18%57 samples
Copper	0%351 samples	0%204 samples	0%15 samples	2%58 samples
Lead	2%332 samples	0%204 samples	0%15 samples	5%56 samples
Radium (226 + 228)	n/a	4%52 samples	0%12 samples	0%70 samples

Fluoride above the limit in Yavapai County fell from 5% of 38 samples in the 2010s to 0% of 57 in the 2020s.

Nitrate above the limit in Yavapai County rose from 2% of 49 samples in the 2010s to 11% of 132 in the 2020s.

Arsenic above the limit in Yavapai County fell from 63% of 38 samples in the 2010s to 18% of 57 in the 2020s.

Lead above the limit in Yavapai County rose from 0% of 204 samples in the 2000s to 5% of 56 in the 2020s.

Copper, radium (226 + 228) have held within a few points between the two most recent periods with enough samples.

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 (45% of 884 samples), pfoa (27% of 116 samples), and nitrate (6% of 1,512 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.

Chloride is widespread in local groundwater. It is mainly a staining and taste problem, but high manganese also carries a health advisory for infants.

What to test for in Yavapai County

1
Arsenic
45% of 884 local samples were above the limit.
2
PFOA
27% of 116 local samples were above the limit.
3
Nitrate
6% of 1,512 local samples were above the limit.
4
Uranium
3% of 61 local samples were above the limit.
5
Fluoride
2% of 1,773 local samples were above the limit.
6
Lead
1% of 607 local samples were above the limit.
7
Radium (226 + 228)
1% of 142 local samples were above the limit.
8
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
191 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.

Test your Yavapai County well for arsenic, PFOA and nitrate

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 Arizona: certified labs, state programs and prices.

Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Yavapai County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.

Wells in Yavapai County

35,331 domestic wells in Yavapai County are on record with the state since 1970. the typical well is 304 feet deep (one in ten goes past 565 feet).

In a typical Yavapai County well, the median yield is 15 gallons per minute, 5% of wells yield under 3 gallons per minute and usually need a storage tank.

3,252

1970s

4,723

1980s

5,695

1990s

5,819

2000s

1,813

2010s

1,173

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 ADWR Wells55 registry and choose Water Well.
The record lists depth, water level, casing depth and the tested rate, plus a link to the drilling log.

Arizona has registered wells since 1980; earlier wells often have no record.

The rock under Yavapai County

Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers

Unconsolidated sand and gravel. Wells in sand and gravel are usually shallow and productive, and they recharge quickly from the surface. That makes them the most exposed to nitrate, bacteria and anything spilled nearby, and the least likely to carry arsenic or radon from the rock.

Classification from the USGS Principal Aquifers of the United States (national map, 2003 edition, GIS release 2015), read at the county centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.

Official help in Arizona

Two places to start that are not selling anything: the state program that answers private well questions, and its list of labs certified to run drinking water tests. A certified lab is the difference between a result you can act on and a number.

Well Water, ADHS
Licensed Commercial Drinking Water Laboratories, ADHS

Contamination sources on record in Yavapai County

ADEQ records 191 leaking underground storage tank sites in Yavapai County, among 192 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.

191: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
1: lined landfill or transfer facility

Treatment that fits the local profile

Arsenic

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

PFOA

Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange

Nitrate

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

Uranium

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Whole-house anion exchange

Fluoride

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Activated alumina; 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 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 PFOA

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 PFOA

Whole-house PFAS carbon system

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $3,000

Granular activated carbon certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for PFOA and PFOS; replace media on schedule.

For PFOA

Aquasana HealthShield whole-house filter

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,099

Whole-house carbon system the maker certifies to reduce PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) and VOCs at every tap; a UV option adds bacteria protection.

Free, no obligation

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

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

Common questions

How deep are wells in Yavapai County?

The typical domestic well in Yavapai County is 304 feet deep, based on 35,331 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 565 feet.

Is there arsenic in well water in Yavapai County?

Arsenic was detected in 73% of 884 public well samples in Yavapai County, and 45% 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 high is radon in well water in Yavapai County?

The median radon level across 97 public samples in Yavapai County was 322 pCi/L, with a high of 2,641 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.

How often should I test a private well in Yavapai 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 Yavapai 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 Arizona dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 10,282 samples in Yavapai 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.
USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 24,390 people on private wells in Yavapai County above 10 ug/L of arsenic, from geology, well depth and land use. County estimates of domestic well users with arsenic above 10 ug/L from the USGS national logistic regression model (Ayotte, Medalie and Qi, 2017), with private well population from the USGS 2015 county water-use compilation (Dieter and others, 2018). Retrieved September 15, 2026.
Arizona ADWR well registry (Wells55): 43,209 well records in Yavapai County, 35,331 domestic. Registered wells from the Arizona Department of Water Resources Wells55 registry. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
ADEQ regulated sites: 192 regulated sites located in Yavapai County. Leaking underground storage tank sites and municipal landfills from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. 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.