Well water in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

In Natchitoches Parish, 2% of 671 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal and Louisiana LDEQ ambient ground water results (LDH Private Well Initiative).

The strongest signal is arsenic: 33% of 21 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.

4,086 test results across 12 contaminants from at least 286 wells, 1940 to 2024; chloride has the most at 1,001. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

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

These are LDEQ monitoring wells sampled by aquifer on a rotation, so the shares describe the aquifer, not a survey of homeowners' wells.

An estimated 6,384 people in Natchitoches Parish get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 16% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that <1% of the 6,384 people on private wells in Natchitoches Parish draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is <1% to 1%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Natchitoches Parish. 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
Arsenic 1976 to 2016	33%	21	81%	3.5	968	10 ug/L EPA limit
Lead 1976 to 2016	30%	20	60%	0	1,028	15 ug/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1940 to 2016	2%	671	53%	0	21	10 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1940 to 2016	<1%	475	99%	0.4	5	4 mg/L EPA limit
Copper 1976 to 2016	0%	24	83%	0.002	0.979	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Chloride 1940 to 2024	no limit	1,001	100%	64	17,000	250 mg/L nuisance level
Iron 1941 to 2019	no limit	743	100%	3,900	137,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1954 to 2019	no limit	699	99%	480	15,600	300 ug/L health guideline
Sodium 1941 to 2016	no limit	422	100%	100	3,500	20 mg/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Uranium (4), Radium (226 + 228) (4), Radon (2).

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	2%621 samples	3%40 samples	0%10 samples	n/a
Fluoride	<1%423 samples	0%32 samples	0%20 samples	n/a

Nitrate, fluoride 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 address

What this means

The contaminants most often above their limit here are arsenic (33% of 21 samples), lead (30% of 20 samples), and nitrate (2% of 671 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 Natchitoches Parish

1
Arsenic
33% of 21 local samples were above the limit.
2
Lead
30% of 20 local samples were above the limit.
3
Nitrate
2% of 671 local samples were above the limit.
4
Fluoride
<1% of 475 local samples were above the limit.
5
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
6
Radon
Median local reading is 229 pCi/L.
7
Chloride
Detected in 100% of local samples.

Test your Natchitoches Parish well for arsenic, lead 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 Louisiana: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

The rock under Natchitoches Parish

Mississippi embayment aquifer system

Semiconsolidated sand. Coastal plain sands like these give steady yields at moderate depth. Salt water and sodium are the usual issues near the coast, and nitrate where the water table is shallow; arsenic and radon from bedrock are less common.

Classification from the USGS Principal Aquifers of the United States (national map, 2003 edition, GIS release 2015), read at the parish centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.

Official help in Louisiana

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.

Private Well Initiative, Louisiana Department of Health
Laboratory Certification, Louisiana Department of Health

Treatment that fits the local profile

Arsenic

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

Lead

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Certified lead-removal carbon filter; Neutralizing filter to raise pH and stop leaching

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

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 arsenic

Under-sink reverse osmosis system

under-sink or countertop, about $300

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

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 arsenic

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 lead

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 lead

Acid neutralizing filter

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,200

Raises pH so plumbing stops leaching lead and copper.

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 Natchitoches Parish

No water treatment company serves Natchitoches Parish 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 Natchitoches Parish, and you get an email naming it first.

Common questions

Is there arsenic in well water in Natchitoches Parish?

Arsenic was detected in 81% of 21 public well samples in Natchitoches Parish, and 33% 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 Natchitoches Parish?

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.

Parishes near Natchitoches Parish

Closest first. Groundwater does not stop at a line on a map, so the next parish over is a fair second opinion.

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

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 4,041 samples in Natchitoches Parish. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
Louisiana LDEQ ambient ground water results (LDH Private Well Initiative): 45 samples in Natchitoches Parish. Ground water sample results from the LDEQ Ambient Ground Water Monitoring Program, published by the Louisiana Department of Health Private Well Initiative. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 6,384 people on private wells in Natchitoches Parish 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.