Well water in Elk County, Kansas

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

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Testing recommended

tested well samples in Elk County exceeded the EPA limit for fluoride (4 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.

The strongest signal is nitrate: 62% of 29 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.

150 test results across 10 contaminants from at least 29 wells, 1951 to 1980; fluoride has the most at 33. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.

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

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Elk 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 1951 to 1980	62%	29	100%	16	830	10 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1951 to 1980	6%	33	100%	0.3	9	4 mg/L EPA limit
Chloride 1951 to 1980	no limit	33	100%	37	930	250 mg/L nuisance level
Iron 1951 to 1980	no limit	26	92%	220	13,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Sodium 1951 to 1980	no limit	12	100%	260	1,000	20 mg/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Lead (4), Arsenic (4), Copper (3), Radium (226 + 228) (1), Manganese (5).

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.

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What this means

The contaminants most often above their limit here are nitrate (62% of 29 samples) and fluoride (6% of 33 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 and Iron 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 Elk County

1
Nitrate
62% of 29 local samples were above the limit.
2
Fluoride
6% of 33 local samples were above the limit.
3
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
4
Lead
Above the limit in 1 of 4 local samples; too few to quote a rate.
5
Chloride
Detected in 100% of local samples.
6
Iron
Detected in 92% of local samples.
7
Copper
Detected in 67% of local samples.
8
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
15 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.

Test your Elk County well for nitrate, fluoride 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 $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 Kansas: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

The rock under Elk 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 Elk County

KDHE records 15 leaking underground storage tank sites in Elk County, among 24 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.

15: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
8: other remediation projects
1: other solid waste facility

Treatment that fits the local profile

Nitrate

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

Fluoride

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

Chloride

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation

Iron

Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration

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 iron

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 Elk County

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

Common questions

How often should I test a private well in Elk 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 Elk 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: 150 samples in Elk 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.
KDHE regulated sites: 24 regulated sites located in Elk 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.