Well water in Crow Wing County, Minnesota

In Crow Wing County, 5% of 4,718 private wells tested between 2008 and 2021 had arsenic above the EPA limit (10 ug/L), according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

The strongest signal is PFOA: 10% of 69 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.

4,718 private wells tested 2008 to 2021 in state summaries; 4,324 test results across 15 contaminants from at least 211 wells, 1965 to 2025; chloride has the most at 635. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

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

An estimated 36,558 people in Crow Wing County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 58% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 7% of the 36,558 people on private wells in Crow Wing County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 5% to 10%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.

What homeowner tests found

MDH new private well arsenic tests: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2008 to 2021. 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	Median	95th pct	Highest	State level
Arsenic	5%	4,718	2	9.3		10 ug/L

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Crow Wing 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
PFOA 2005 to 2025	10%	69	33%	0	18.3	4 ng/L EPA limit
PFOS 2005 to 2023	7%	15	13%	0	7.24	4 ng/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1965 to 2013	5%	214	60%	0.002	38.3	10 mg/L EPA limit
Arsenic 1980 to 2025	2%	465	25%	0	26.4	10 ug/L EPA limit
Lead 1980 to 2025	<1%	502	15%	0	25.1	15 ug/L EPA limit
Copper 1980 to 2025	0%	502	25%	0	0.074	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1965 to 2025	0%	271	41%	0	0.91	4 mg/L EPA limit
Uranium 1980 to 2013	0%	11	18%	0	1.35	30 ug/L EPA limit
Chloride 1965 to 2025	no limit	635	96%	8.4	413	250 mg/L nuisance level
Iron 1965 to 2025	no limit	554	57%	39.2	133,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1965 to 2025	no limit	544	58%	28.4	2,060	300 ug/L health guideline
Sodium 1965 to 2025	no limit	538	99%	7.58	180	20 mg/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Radium (226 + 228) (2), E. coli (1), Radon (1).

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
Lead	2%66 samples	0%76 samples	0%238 samples	0%122 samples
Copper	0%66 samples	0%76 samples	0%238 samples	0%122 samples
Arsenic	17%29 samples	4%76 samples	0%238 samples	0%122 samples
Fluoride	0%64 samples	0%89 samples	n/a	0%117 samples
Nitrate	10%105 samples	<1%107 samples	n/a	n/a
PFOA	n/a	0%11 samples	n/a	11%57 samples

Nitrate above the limit in Crow Wing County fell from 10% of 105 samples before 2000 to <1% of 107 in the 2000s.

Lead, copper, arsenic, 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

Among homeowners in Crow Wing County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (5% of 4,718 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 Crow Wing County

1
PFOA
10% of 69 local samples were above the limit.
2
PFOS
7% of 15 local samples were above the limit.
3
Nitrate
5% of 214 local samples were above the limit.
4
Arsenic
5% of 4,718 local wells tested were above the EPA limit.
5
Lead
<1% of 502 local samples were above the limit.
6
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
7
Radon
Median local reading is 300 pCi/L.
8
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
237 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
9
Metals panel
6 hazardous waste sites on record locally.

Test your Crow Wing County well for PFOA, PFOS 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 Minnesota: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

Wells in Crow Wing County

8,342 domestic wells in Crow Wing County are on record with the state since 1916. <1% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 71 feet deep (one in ten goes past 128 feet).

In a typical Crow Wing County well, bedrock starts about 108 feet down.

1950s

1960s

523

1970s

932

1980s

5,160

1990s

1,221

2000s

241

2010s

218

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 Minnesota Well Index and choose Water Well.
The record shows depth, casing, depth to bedrock, aquifer, static water level and the driller; new wells since 2008 also show the arsenic test result.

Wells drilled since 1974 have records; older wells appear only if a later owner reported them.

The rock under Crow Wing 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 Minnesota

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.

Wells and Borings, Minnesota Department of Health
Accredited Laboratories as Well Partners, Minnesota Department of Health

Contamination sources on record in Crow Wing County

MPCA records 237 leaking underground storage tank sites and 6 hazardous waste sites in Crow Wing County, among 638 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.

237: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
6: hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
268: registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
80: lined landfills and transfer facilities
47: other remediation projects

Treatment that fits the local profile

PFOA

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

PFOS

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

Nitrate

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

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

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 PFOS

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 PFOS

Aquasana HealthShield whole-house filter

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,099

Whole-house carbon system the maker certifies to reduce PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) and VOCs at every tap; a UV option adds bacteria protection.

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.

Free, no obligation

Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Crow Wing County

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

Common questions

How deep are wells in Crow Wing County?

The typical domestic well in Crow Wing County is 71 feet deep, based on 8,342 wells reported to the state since 1916. One in ten is deeper than 128 feet. <1% are drilled into bedrock.

Is there arsenic in well water in Crow Wing County?

Arsenic was detected in 25% of 465 public well samples in Crow Wing County, and 2% 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 Crow Wing 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 Crow Wing County

43 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Crow Wing County totals above rather than shown separately: Bay Lake township, Brainerd, Breezy Point, Center township, Crosby, Cuyuna, Daggett Brook township, Deerwood, Deerwood township, Emily, Fairfield township, Fifty Lakes, Fort Ripley, Fort Ripley township, Gail Lake township, Garrison, Garrison township, Ideal township, Irondale township, Ironton, Jenkins, Jenkins township, Little Pine township, Long Lake township, Manhattan Beach, Maple Grove township, Mission township, Nisswa, Nokay Lake township, Oak Lawn township, Pelican township, Pequot Lakes, Perry Lake township, Platte Lake township, Rabbit Lake township, Riverton, Roosevelt township, Ross Lake township, Second Assessment UT, St. Mathias township, Timothy township, Trommald, Wolford township.

Counties near Crow Wing 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 Minnesota dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 4,324 samples in Crow Wing 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.
MDH new private well arsenic tests: summaries for 1 contaminants in Crow Wing County, up to 4,718 wells each. Arsenic results for every new private well drilled and tested August 2008 to December 2021, reported to the Minnesota Department of Health by well contractors and published by county. Mandatory test on new wells only, so older wells are not represented; 64,793 wells statewide. Shares are against 10 ug/L, which MDH applies as its advice level. Median and 95th percentile published per county. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 36,558 people on private wells in Crow Wing 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.
Minnesota Well Index: 10,773 well records in Crow Wing County, 8,342 domestic. Well construction records from the Minnesota Well Index (Minnesota Department of Health), non-public-supply wells. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
MPCA regulated sites: 638 regulated sites located in Crow Wing County. Tank, leak, remediation, Superfund and landfill sites from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency What's In My Neighborhood database. 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.