Well water in Huron County, Michigan
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Testing strongly recommended
tested well samples in Huron County exceeded the EPA limit for arsenic (10 ug/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
764 test results across 11 contaminants from at least 70 wells, 1980 to 2004; nitrate has the most at 106. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 15,056 people in Huron County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 47% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 26% of the 15,056 people on private wells in Huron County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 22% to 31%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Huron 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenic 1980 to 1998 | 88 | 88% | 19.5 | 360 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrate 1980 to 2004 | 106 | 11% | 0 | 1.3 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1980 to 1998 | 82 | 98% | 0.8 | 1.3 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1980 to 1997 | 53 | 53% | 0.001 | 0.02 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1980 to 1997 | 53 | 4% | 0 | 0 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Uranium 1980 to 1997 | 18 | 17% | 0 | 1.35 | 30 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Iron 1980 to 2004 | no limit | 84 | 96% | 515 | 1,500 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1980 to 1998 | no limit | 82 | 100% | 23.6 | 12,000 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Manganese 1980 to 1998 | no limit | 82 | 95% | 38 | 310 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Chloride 1980 to 1998 | no limit | 82 | 98% | 5.65 | 22,000 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Radon 1988 to 1991 | no limit | 34 | 68% | 125 | 710 | 2,000 pCi/L health guideline |
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 arsenic (58% of 88 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.
Iron, Manganese, and Chloride 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 Huron County
- 1Arsenic58% of 88 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 3RadonMedian local reading is 125 pCi/L.
- 4NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 5FluorideDetected in 98% of local samples.
- 6ChlorideDetected in 98% of local samples.
- 7IronDetected in 96% of local samples.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)38 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- 9Metals panel67 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your Huron County well for arsenic, coliform bacteria and radon
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 Michigan: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Huron County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Huron County
6,407 domestic wells in Huron County are on record with the state since 1964. 95% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 130 feet deep (one in ten goes past 230 feet).
In a typical Huron County well, bedrock starts about 34 feet down, the median yield is 20 gallons per minute, 2% 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 Wellogic (EGLE) and choose Water Well.
- The record lists depth, casing, static water level, the pump test and the geologic log.
Michigan has required well records since 1966, so most drilled wells are on file.
The rock under Huron 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.
Official help in Michigan
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 Residential Water Well Testing, Michigan EGLE
- Laboratory certification program, Michigan EGLE
Contamination sources on record in Huron County
Michigan EGLE records 38 leaking underground storage tank sites and 67 hazardous waste sites in Huron County, among 308 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.
- 38
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 67
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 202
- registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
- 1
- lined landfill or transfer facility
Treatment that fits the local profile
Arsenic
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; 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 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 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 Huron County
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Common questions
How deep are wells in Huron County?
The typical domestic well in Huron County is 130 feet deep, based on 6,407 wells reported to the state since 1964. One in ten is deeper than 230 feet. 95% are drilled into bedrock.
Is there arsenic in well water in Huron County?
Arsenic was detected in 88% of 88 public well samples in Huron County, and 58% 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 high is radon in well water in Huron County?
The median radon level across 34 public samples in Huron County was 125 pCi/L, with a high of 710 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.
How often should I test a private well in Huron 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.
Towns in Huron County
30 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Huron County totals above rather than shown separately: Bad Axe, Bingham township, Bloomfield township, Brookfield township, Caseville, Caseville township, Chandler township, Dwight township, Fairhaven township, Gore township, Grant township, Harbor Beach, Hume township, Huron township, Lake township, Lincoln township, McKinley township, Meade township, Oliver township, Paris township, Pointe Aux Barques township, Port Austin township, Rubicon township, Sand Beach township, Sebewaing township, Sheridan township, Sherman township, Sigel township, Verona township, Winsor township.
Counties near Huron 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 Michigan dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 764 samples in Huron 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 15,056 people on private wells in Huron 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.
- Michigan Wellogic well records: 6,407 well records in Huron County, 6,407 domestic. Water well records from Wellogic, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy statewide well database. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- Michigan EGLE regulated sites: 308 regulated sites located in Huron County. Part 201 environmental contamination sites, underground storage tank facilities and Part 115 landfills from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. 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.