Well water in Truro, Massachusetts

In Truro, none of 65 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate, based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.

The strongest signal is PFOA: 6% of 35 local wells tested were above the EPA limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.

35 private wells tested 2020 to 2023 in state summaries; 536 test results across 6 contaminants from at least 43 wells, 1951 to 2003; chloride has the most at 174. Data refreshed September 16, 2026.

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

MassDEP offered free PFAS tests to towns without public water and to wells near suspected sources such as landfills, fire stations and airports, so these shares describe the wells that took part rather than every well in town.

What homeowner tests found

MassDEP Private Well PFAS Sampling Program: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2020 to 2023. Shares are against the level the state applies to each contaminant, named in the last column; several are stricter than EPA.

Contaminant	Above state level	Wells tested	95th pct	Highest	State level
PFOA	6%	35	3.5	4.29	4 ng/L
PFOS	0%	35	0.922	2.86	4 ng/L
PFHxS	0%	35	6.41	8.13	10 ng/L
PFNA	0%	35	0	0	10 ng/L

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Truro. 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 2003	0%	65	98%	0.1	1.3	10 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1951 to 2000	0%	61	92%	0.1	0.6	4 mg/L EPA limit
Chloride 1951 to 2003	no limit	174	100%	150	18,000	250 mg/L nuisance level
Sodium 1964 to 2003	no limit	106	100%	90	2,940	20 mg/L health guideline
Iron 1951 to 2003	no limit	72	90%	115	4,800	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1956 to 2003	no limit	58	90%	11.3	14,100	300 ug/L health guideline

Closer than the town

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

Among homeowners in Truro who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were PFOA (6% of 35 wells). These are ordinary wells tested by their owners, so the shares are the best available picture of a typical well here, with one caveat: people test more often when they suspect a problem.

What to test for in Truro

1
PFOA
6% of 35 local wells tested were above the EPA limit.
2
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
3
Nitrate
Recommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
4
Chloride
Detected in 100% of local samples.
5
Fluoride
Detected in 92% of local samples.
6
Iron
Detected in 90% of local samples.
7
Manganese
Detected in 90% of local samples.
8
PFAS
1 unlined landfill on record locally.
9
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
1 unlined landfill on record locally.

Test your Truro well for PFOA, coliform bacteria 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 Massachusetts: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

Wells in Truro

344 domestic wells in Truro are on record with the state since 1918. <1% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 78 feet deep (one in ten goes past 136 feet).

In a typical Truro well, bedrock starts about 17 feet down, the median yield is 15 gallons per minute.

1990s

162

2000s

2010s

2020s

Find your own well's report

The state keeps the driller's report for most wells drilled since 1984. It tells you how deep your well is, where bedrock starts, and how much water it makes, which decides what treatment can work.

Open MassDEP Well Location Viewer and choose Water Well.
The completion report lists total depth, depth to bedrock, static water level, yield and the driller.

Drillers have filed completion reports with the state since 1984; the viewer's public copy is refreshed a few times a year.

The rock under Truro

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

Official help in Massachusetts

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 Wells, MassDEP
Certified Laboratories, MassDEP

Contamination sources on record in Truro

MassDEP records 1 unlined landfill in Truro, among 5 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.

1: unlined landfillOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
2: registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
2: other remediation projects

Treatment that fits the local profile

PFOA

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

Chloride

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation

Iron

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

Manganese

Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis

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 PFOA

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

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 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 Truro

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

Common questions

How deep are wells in Truro?

The typical domestic well in Truro is 78 feet deep, based on 344 wells reported to the state since 1918. One in ten is deeper than 136 feet. <1% are drilled into bedrock.

How often should I test a private well in Truro?

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.

Towns near Truro

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

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

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 536 samples in Truro. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
MassDEP Private Well PFAS Sampling Program: summaries for 4 contaminants in Truro, up to 35 wells each. Private well PFAS results from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection free sampling program, 2020 to 2023, one anonymized row per well. Shares are against the EPA limit for each compound (4 ng/L for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ng/L for PFHxS and PFNA). Massachusetts applies its own PFAS6 standard of 20 ng/L to the sum of six compounds; that sum is not a contaminant page here. Zero means not detected. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
MassDEP well completion reports: 399 well records in Truro, 344 domestic. Well completion reports filed with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, as published in the Well Location Viewer (April 2023 vintage). Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
MassDEP regulated sites: 5 regulated sites located in Truro. Chapter 21E release sites, solid waste landfills and underground storage tank facilities from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, through MassGIS. Retrieved September 16, 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.