Well water in Andover, Massachusetts
In Andover, sodium was detected in 100% of 103 tested well samples from USGS Water Quality Portal.
The strongest signal is coliform bacteria: Recommended for every private well, every year, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
330 test results across 5 contaminants from at least 24 wells, 1975 to 1976; sodium has the most at 103. 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 Andover. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium 1975 to 1976 | no limit | 103 | 100% | 44 | 300 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Chloride 1975 to 1976 | no limit | 102 | 100% | 250 | 650 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Iron 1975 to 1976 | no limit | 80 | 95% | 60 | 7,900 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1975 to 1976 | no limit | 41 | 90% | 190 | 3,900 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Nitrate (4).
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 addressWhat this means
Among contaminants with a federal limit, no tested sample in Andover came back above it. That is reassuring, but sampling is uneven: wells that were never tested are not in this data.
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 Andover
- 1Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 2NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 3ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 4IronDetected in 95% of local samples.
- 5ManganeseDetected in 90% of local samples.
- 6PFAS1 unlined landfill on record locally.
- 7Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)1 unlined landfill on record locally.
- 8Metals panel2 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your Andover well for coliform bacteria, nitrate and chloride
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 Massachusetts: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Andover numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Andover
91 domestic wells in Andover are on record with the state since 1964. 99% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 328 feet deep (one in ten goes past 560 feet).
In a typical Andover well, bedrock starts about 17 feet down, the median yield is 10.5 gallons per minute, 3% of wells yield under 3 gallons per minute and usually need a storage tank.
Bedrock wells are where arsenic, uranium and radon come from: the water sits in fractures in granite and metamorphic rock and picks up whatever the rock carries. That is why testing for those three matters more here than in a dug or gravel well.
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 Andover
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 Andover
MassDEP records 1 unlined landfill and 2 hazardous waste sites in Andover, among 25 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
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 19
- registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
- 3
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
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
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For chloride
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
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 Andover
No water treatment company serves Andover 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 Andover, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Andover?
The typical domestic well in Andover is 328 feet deep, based on 91 wells reported to the state since 1964. One in ten is deeper than 560 feet. 99% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Andover?
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 Andover
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: 330 samples in Andover. 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 well completion reports: 276 well records in Andover, 91 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: 25 regulated sites located in Andover. 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.