Well water in Georgia

Name: Private well water quality in Georgia
Creator: Well Water Nerd
License: Public domain (US federal government data)

1in14

Testing recommended

tested well samples in Georgia exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.

The strongest signal is PFOS: 33% of 12 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.

47,979 test results across 15 contaminants from at least 2,534 wells, 1932 to 2026; chloride has the most at 22,918. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

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

An estimated 1,514,397 people in Georgia get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 2% of the 1,514,397 people on private wells in Georgia draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 2% to 4%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Georgia. 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
PFOS 2019 to 2024	33%	12	50%	1.3	230	4 ng/L EPA limit
PFOA 2019 to 2024	33%	12	42%	0	14	4 ng/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1932 to 2026	7%	5,916	78%	0.31	5,000	10 mg/L EPA limit
E. coli 2002 to 2024	7%	137	7%	0	7	0 MPN/100mL EPA limit
Arsenic 1967 to 2026	3%	1,431	33%	0	110	10 ug/L EPA limit
Radium (226 + 228) 1998 to 2020	<1%	383	70%	0.23	9.5	5 pCi/L EPA limit
Lead 1967 to 2026	<1%	1,518	53%	0	500	15 ug/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1935 to 2026	<1%	3,796	74%	0.13	340	4 mg/L EPA limit
Copper 1955 to 2026	0%	1,459	50%	0	0.5	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Uranium 1993 to 2026	0%	568	60%	0.035	29.4	30 ug/L EPA limit
Chloride 1932 to 2026	no limit	22,918	99%	112	33,000	250 mg/L nuisance level
Sodium 1932 to 2026	no limit	4,050	100%	4.8	725,000	20 mg/L health guideline
Iron 1946 to 2026	no limit	2,889	62%	8	73,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1951 to 2026	no limit	2,531	66%	1.12	8,500	300 ug/L health guideline
Radon 1991 to 2025	no limit	359	99%	184	9,200	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	4%3,597 samples	10%1,464 samples	15%613 samples	7%242 samples
Fluoride	<1%2,612 samples	<1%661 samples	0%385 samples	0%138 samples
Lead	<1%601 samples	<1%230 samples	<1%571 samples	0%116 samples
Copper	0%543 samples	0%231 samples	0%569 samples	0%116 samples
Arsenic	6%555 samples	1%234 samples	0%526 samples	4%116 samples
Uranium	0%89 samples	0%152 samples	0%261 samples	0%66 samples

Nitrate above the limit in Georgia fell from 15% of 613 samples in the 2010s to 7% of 242 in the 2020s.

Fluoride, lead, copper, arsenic, uranium have held within a few points between the two most recent periods with enough samples.

What this means

The contaminants most often above their limit here are pfos (33% of 12 samples), pfoa (33% of 12 samples), and nitrate (7% of 5,916 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 Georgia

1
PFOS
33% of 12 local samples were above the limit.
2
PFOA
33% of 12 local samples were above the limit.
3
Nitrate
7% of 5,916 local samples were above the limit.
4
E. coli
7% of 137 local samples were above the limit.
5
Arsenic
3% of 1,431 local samples were above the limit.
6
Radium (226 + 228)
<1% of 383 local samples were above the limit.
7
Lead
<1% of 1,518 local samples were above the limit.

Test your Georgia well for PFOS, 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 Georgia: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

Free, one email

Send me the Georgia report

The numbers above, which tests to order and where, and the treatment that fits the local profile, in one email.

The rock under Georgia

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 state centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.

Official help in Georgia

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, Georgia Department of Public Health
Drinking Water (certified laboratory lists), Georgia EPD

Treatment that fits the local profile

PFOS

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

PFOA

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

Nitrate

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

E. coli

Shock chlorination and fix the well cap or casing; UV disinfection whole-house; Chlorination system

Arsenic

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

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 PFOS

Under-sink reverse osmosis system

under-sink or countertop, about $300

Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.

For PFOS

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 PFOS

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

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 E. coli

UV disinfection system

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $900

Fix the well cap and casing first; UV keeps bacteria from returning.

For E. coli

Aquasana Rhino Well Water with UV

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,871

Whole-house system built for wells: sediment pre-filter, KDF and carbon, and a UV lamp rated to kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses. It does not remove arsenic, nitrate, uranium or radon.

Common questions

Is there arsenic in well water in Georgia?

Arsenic was detected in 33% of 1,431 public well samples in Georgia, and 3% 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 Georgia?

The median radon level across 359 public samples in Georgia was 184 pCi/L, with a high of 9,200 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.

How often should I test a private well in Georgia?

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 in Georgia

2 counties have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Georgia totals above rather than shown separately: DeKalb, Muscogee.

Want the numbers themselves? Download the Georgia dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 47,979 samples in Georgia. 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 1,514,397 people on private wells in Georgia 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.

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.