Well water in Atchison County, Kansas
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Testing strongly recommended
tested well samples in Atchison County exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
477 test results across 8 contaminants from at least 61 wells, 1949 to 2011; nitrate has the most at 131. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 958 people in Atchison County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 6% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 2% of the 958 people on private wells in Atchison County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 1% to 2%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Atchison 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 1949 to 2011 | 131 | 97% | 5.7 | 360 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1977 to 2011 | 22 | 77% | 0.93 | 42.9 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1953 to 2011 | 85 | 100% | 0.38 | 2 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1977 to 2011 | 18 | 83% | 0 | 0.02 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1976 to 2011 | 17 | 76% | 0.001 | 0.08 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Sodium 1949 to 2011 | no limit | 131 | 100% | 38 | 380 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Manganese 1949 to 2011 | no limit | 70 | 91% | 150 | 3,200 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Uranium (3).
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 (44% of 131 samples) and arsenic (5% of 22 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.
Manganese 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 Atchison County
- 1Nitrate44% of 131 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Arsenic5% of 22 local samples were above the limit.
- 3Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 4UraniumAbove the limit in 1 of 3 local samples; too few to quote a rate.
- 5FluorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 6ManganeseDetected in 91% of local samples.
- 7CopperDetected in 76% of local samples.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)79 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- 9Metals panel1 hazardous waste site on record locally.
Test your Atchison County well for nitrate, arsenic and coliform bacteria
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 Kansas: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Atchison County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under Atchison 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.
Contamination sources on record in Atchison County
KDHE records 79 leaking underground storage tank sites and 1 hazardous waste site in Atchison County, among 138 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.
- 79
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 1
- hazardous waste siteSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 44
- other remediation projects
- 14
- other solid waste facilities
Treatment that fits the local profile
Nitrate
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation
Arsenic
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange
Manganese
Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
Systems we would look at first
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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 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 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.
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Common questions
Is there arsenic in well water in Atchison County?
Arsenic was detected in 77% of 22 public well samples in Atchison County, and 5% 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 Atchison 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 Atchison 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 Kansas dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 477 samples in Atchison 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 958 people on private wells in Atchison 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.
- KDHE regulated sites: 138 regulated sites located in Atchison County. Identified contaminated sites, leaking underground storage tank facilities and solid waste facilities from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Retrieved September 9, 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.