Well water in San Diego County, California
1in3
Testing strongly recommended
tested well samples in San Diego County exceeded the EPA limit for gross alpha (15 pCi/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal and California GAMA Domestic Well Project.
15,685 test results across 17 contaminants from at least 1,058 wells, 1939 to 2024; sodium has the most at 3,410. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 51,400 people in San Diego County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 2% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 12% of the 51,400 people on private wells in San Diego County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 9% to 16%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside San Diego 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross alpha 2008 to 2009 | 53 | 100% | 9.25 | 170 | 15 pCi/L EPA limit | |
| PFOA 2019 to 2023 | 16 | 19% | 0 | 12 | 4 ng/L EPA limit | |
| PFOS 2019 to 2023 | 16 | 31% | 0 | 16 | 4 ng/L EPA limit | |
| Uranium 2004 to 2023 | 123 | 98% | 3.68 | 286 | 30 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrate 1939 to 2024 | 3,387 | 82% | 0.81 | 230 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1964 to 2024 | 674 | 78% | 1.1 | 78.6 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1957 to 2023 | 339 | 40% | 0 | 74.8 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1951 to 2024 | 2,894 | 98% | 0.4 | 4.27 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1957 to 2023 | 589 | 80% | 0 | 1.2 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrite 2008 to 2009 | 137 | 10% | 0 | 0.071 | 1 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Radium (226 + 228) 2004 to 2013 | 36 | 78% | 0.088 | 0.86 | 5 pCi/L EPA limit | |
| E. coli 2012 to 2016 | 12 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 MPN/100mL EPA limit | |
| Sodium 1939 to 2024 | no limit | 3,410 | 100% | 116 | 29,000 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Iron 1942 to 2024 | no limit | 2,269 | 86% | 30 | 6,600,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1948 to 2024 | no limit | 1,509 | 91% | 20 | 9,560 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Chloride 2008 to 2009 | no limit | 137 | 100% | 111 | 692 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Radon 2004 to 2017 | no limit | 84 | 100% | 740 | 17,200 | 2,000 pCi/L health guideline |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate | 12%2,362 samples | 8%557 samples | 11%337 samples | 6%131 samples |
| Fluoride | 0%2,317 samples | <1%275 samples | 0%226 samples | 0%76 samples |
| Arsenic | 3%79 samples | 6%318 samples | 7%235 samples | 2%42 samples |
| Copper | 0%318 samples | 0%162 samples | 0%89 samples | 0%20 samples |
| Lead | 0%73 samples | 1%157 samples | 0%89 samples | 5%20 samples |
| Uranium | n/a | 0%20 samples | 16%95 samples | n/a |
Nitrate above the limit in San Diego County fell from 11% of 337 samples in the 2010s to 6% of 131 in the 2020s.
Arsenic above the limit in San Diego County fell from 7% of 235 samples in the 2010s to 2% of 42 in the 2020s.
Lead above the limit in San Diego County rose from 0% of 89 samples in the 2010s to 5% of 20 in the 2020s.
Uranium above the limit in San Diego County rose from 0% of 20 samples in the 2000s to 16% of 95 in the 2010s.
Fluoride, copper 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 addressWhat this means
The contaminants most often above their limit here are gross alpha (36% of 53 samples), pfoa (19% of 16 samples), and pfos (19% of 16 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, Manganese, 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 San Diego County
- 1Gross alpha36% of 53 local samples were above the limit.
- 2PFOA19% of 16 local samples were above the limit.
- 3PFOS19% of 16 local samples were above the limit.
- 4Uranium12% of 123 local samples were above the limit.
- 5Nitrate11% of 3,387 local samples were above the limit.
- 6Arsenic6% of 674 local samples were above the limit.
- 7Lead<1% of 339 local samples were above the limit.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)3,969 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- 9Metals panel37 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your San Diego County well for gross alpha, PFOA and PFOS
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 California: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the San Diego County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under San Diego 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 California
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.
- GAMA - Well Owners, State Water Resources Control Board
- Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP), State Water Resources Control Board
Contamination sources on record in San Diego County
California GeoTracker and EnviroStor sites records 3,969 leaking underground storage tank sites and 37 hazardous waste sites in San Diego County, among 7,950 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.
- 3,969
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 37
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 139
- lined landfills and transfer facilities
- 3,805
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
Gross alpha
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Water softener (cation exchange) for radium; Anion exchange for uranium
PFOA
Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
PFOS
Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
Uranium
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Whole-house anion exchange
Nitrate
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; 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 gross alpha
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For PFOA
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
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.
For PFOS
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 uranium
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.
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Common questions
Is there arsenic in well water in San Diego County?
Arsenic was detected in 78% of 674 public well samples in San Diego County, and 6% 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 San Diego County?
The median radon level across 84 public samples in San Diego County was 740 pCi/L, with a high of 17,200 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.
How often should I test a private well in San Diego 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 San Diego 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 California dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 14,262 samples in San Diego 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.
- California GAMA Domestic Well Project: 1,423 samples in San Diego County. Private well samples from the State Water Board GAMA Domestic Well Project county studies (El Dorado, Tehama, Tulare, San Diego, Yuba, Monterey and others), 2002 to 2011, from the GAMA results file on data.ca.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 51,400 people on private wells in San Diego 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.
- California GeoTracker and EnviroStor sites: 7,950 regulated sites located in San Diego County. Leaking underground storage tank and cleanup sites from the State Water Board GeoTracker export on data.ca.gov, and DTSC EnviroStor cleanup sites. Retrieved September 15, 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.