Well water in High Forest township, Minnesota
In High Forest township, none of 131 private wells tested between 2014 and 2019 had nitrate above the EPA limit (10 mg/L), according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
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.
131 private wells tested 2014 to 2019 in state summaries; 125 test results across 9 contaminants from at least 5 wells, 1992 to 2019; chloride has the most at 23. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
What homeowner tests found
MDA Township Testing Program nitrate: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2014 to 2019. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate | 131 | 10 mg/L |
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside High Forest township. 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 1992 to 2019 | 15 | 27% | 0 | 1.15 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1992 to 2019 | 15 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1992 to 2019 | 12 | 83% | 0.017 | 0.029 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1992 to 2019 | no limit | 23 | 96% | 84 | 132 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Iron 1992 to 2019 | no limit | 20 | 35% | 0 | 2,939 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1992 to 2019 | no limit | 16 | 100% | 209 | 270 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Manganese 1992 to 2019 | no limit | 16 | 25% | 0 | 71.5 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Nitrate (5), Fluoride (3).
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 homeowners in High Forest township who sent a sample to the state lab, no health-based limit was exceeded often enough to publish a share. That is good news, but a single well can still be the exception.
What to test for in High Forest township
- 1Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 2NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 3FluorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 4ChlorideDetected in 96% of local samples.
- 5CopperDetected in 83% of local samples.
- 6Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)1 leaking underground storage tank site on record locally.
Test your High Forest township well for coliform bacteria, nitrate and fluoride
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 Minnesota: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the High Forest township numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in High Forest township
194 domestic wells in High Forest township are on record with the state since 1958. 100% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 360 feet deep (one in ten goes past 420 feet).
In a typical High Forest township well, bedrock starts about 30 feet down.
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 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 High Forest township
Upper carbonate aquifer
Carbonate-rock. Limestone and dolomite move water through cracks and solution channels, sometimes very fast. Bacteria and nitrate can travel from the surface to a well in days, so annual bacteria testing matters more here than most places; hardness is a given.
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 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 High Forest township
MPCA records 1 leaking underground storage tank site in High Forest township, among 14 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
- leaking underground storage tank siteGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 2
- registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
- 10
- lined landfills and transfer facilities
- 1
- other remediation project
Treatment that fits the local profile
Iron
Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration
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 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 High Forest township
No water treatment company serves High Forest township 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 High Forest township, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in High Forest township?
The typical domestic well in High Forest township is 360 feet deep, based on 194 wells reported to the state since 1958. One in ten is deeper than 420 feet. 100% are drilled into bedrock.
Is there arsenic in well water in High Forest township?
Arsenic was detected in 27% of 15 public well samples in High Forest township, and 0% 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 High Forest township?
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 High Forest township
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 Minnesota dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 125 samples in High Forest township. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- MDA Township Testing Program nitrate: summaries for 1 contaminants in High Forest township, up to 131 wells each. Nitrate results from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Township Testing Program, 2013 to 2019, which offered a free test to every well in 344 townships with vulnerable groundwater. Townships were selected for vulnerable geology and row-crop land use, so their shares run above the state as a whole; county and state figures are not derived from them. Share is the final (follow-up) result above 10 mg/L as N. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- Minnesota Well Index: 297 well records in High Forest township, 194 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: 14 regulated sites located in High Forest township. 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.