Well water in Van Buren County, Arkansas
In Van Buren County, 2% of 88 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
802 test results across 10 contaminants from at least 78 wells, 1960 to 2016; chloride has the most at 89. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 231 people in Van Buren County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 1% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 2% of the 231 people on private wells in Van Buren County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 2% to 3%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Van Buren 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 1960 to 2015 | 88 | 41% | 0 | 17.5 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 2010 to 2016 | 87 | 44% | 0 | 0.12 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 2010 to 2016 | 87 | 61% | 0 | 0.73 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 2010 to 2016 | 87 | 43% | 0 | 2.2 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Uranium 2011 to 2015 | 78 | 5% | 0 | 0.2 | 30 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1960 to 2016 | 20 | 100% | 0.165 | 0.83 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1960 to 2016 | no limit | 89 | 100% | 3.9 | 100 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1960 to 2016 | no limit | 89 | 80% | 6.2 | 195 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Iron 1960 to 2016 | no limit | 89 | 73% | 0 | 20,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1968 to 2016 | no limit | 88 | 76% | 87.8 | 4,370 | 300 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.
Check my addressWhat this means
The contaminants most often above their limit here are nitrate (2% of 88 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, 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 Van Buren County
- 1Nitrate2% of 88 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 3FluorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 4ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 5ManganeseDetected in 76% of local samples.
- 6IronDetected in 73% of local samples.
- 7Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)19 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- 8Metals panel19 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your Van Buren County well for nitrate, coliform bacteria and fluoride
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 Arkansas: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Van Buren County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under Van Buren County
Not a principal aquifer
The USGS map places this area outside any principal aquifer, which usually means wells here draw from fractured bedrock or thin local deposits rather than a large regional aquifer. Bedrock wells of that kind are where arsenic, radon and uranium turn up, and yields vary from well to well.
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 Arkansas
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.
- Water Microbiology Laboratory, Arkansas Department of Health
Contamination sources on record in Van Buren County
Arkansas DEQ permitted sites records 19 hazardous waste sites in Van Buren County, among 86 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.
- 19
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 56
- registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
- 11
- lined landfills and transfer facilities
Treatment that fits the local profile
Nitrate
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation
Manganese
Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
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 nitrate
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For nitrate
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 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.
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Van Buren County
No water treatment company serves Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
Is there arsenic in well water in Van Buren County?
Arsenic was detected in 43% of 87 public well samples in Van Buren County, and 0% 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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren 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 Arkansas dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 802 samples in Van Buren 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 231 people on private wells in Van Buren 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.
- Arkansas DEQ permitted sites: 86 regulated sites located in Van Buren County. Regulated storage tank, hazardous waste and solid waste permit sites from the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality, through the Arkansas GIS Office. 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.