Well water in Pope County, Minnesota

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Testing strongly recommended

private wells tested between 2008 and 2021 in Pope County had arsenic above the EPA limit (10 ug/L), according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

639 private wells tested 2008 to 2021 in state summaries; 1,645 test results across 9 contaminants from at least 194 wells, 1964 to 2025; chloride has the most at 331. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

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

An estimated 6,591 people in Pope County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 60% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 5% of the 6,591 people on private wells in Pope County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 4% to 6%), 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	21%	639	3.8	27.2		10 ug/L

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Pope 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 1985 to 2004	47%	85	100%	8.12	83.7	10 ug/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1964 to 2006	18%	314	81%	3	49.9	10 mg/L EPA limit
Lead 1994 to 2004	2%	81	86%	0.14	32.5	15 ug/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1964 to 2005	0%	176	94%	0.19	0.51	4 mg/L EPA limit
Copper 1983 to 2004	0%	86	87%	0.001	0.051	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Chloride 1964 to 2025	no limit	331	99%	9.1	236	250 mg/L nuisance level
Iron 1964 to 2006	no limit	200	96%	1,235	12,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1964 to 2005	no limit	198	95%	120	1,000	300 ug/L health guideline
Sodium 1964 to 2005	no limit	174	98%	8.82	182	20 mg/L health guideline

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
Nitrate	24%233 samples	0%81 samples	n/a	n/a
Fluoride	0%97 samples	0%79 samples	n/a	n/a
Copper	0%16 samples	0%70 samples	n/a	n/a
Arsenic	40%15 samples	49%70 samples	n/a	n/a
Lead	18%11 samples	0%70 samples	n/a	n/a

Nitrate above the limit in Pope County fell from 24% of 233 samples before 2000 to 0% of 81 in the 2000s.

Fluoride has 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 Pope County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (21% of 639 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 Pope County

1
Arsenic
47% of 85 local samples were above the limit.
2
Nitrate
18% of 314 local samples were above the limit.
3
Lead
2% of 81 local samples were above the limit.
4
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
5
Chloride
Detected in 99% of local samples.
6
Iron
Detected in 96% of local samples.
7
Manganese
Detected in 95% of local samples.
8
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
63 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.

Test your Pope County well for arsenic, nitrate and lead

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 Pope County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.

Wells in Pope County

1,170 domestic wells in Pope County are on record with the state since 1948. <1% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 106 feet deep (one in ten goes past 201 feet).

In a typical Pope County well, bedrock starts about 270 feet down.

1950s

1960s

1970s

243

1980s

579

1990s

131

2000s

104

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 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 Pope 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 Pope County

MPCA records 63 leaking underground storage tank sites in Pope County, among 171 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.

63: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
76: registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
12: lined landfills and transfer facilities
20: other remediation projects

Treatment that fits the local profile

Arsenic

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange

Nitrate

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

Lead

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Certified lead-removal carbon filter; Neutralizing filter to raise pH and stop leaching

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 lead

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 lead

Acid neutralizing filter

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,200

Raises pH so plumbing stops leaching lead and copper.

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 Pope County

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

Common questions

How deep are wells in Pope County?

The typical domestic well in Pope County is 106 feet deep, based on 1,170 wells reported to the state since 1948. One in ten is deeper than 201 feet. <1% are drilled into bedrock.

Is there arsenic in well water in Pope County?

Arsenic was detected in 100% of 85 public well samples in Pope County, and 47% 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 Pope 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 Pope County

25 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Pope County totals above rather than shown separately: Bangor township, Barsness township, Ben Wade township, Blue Mounds township, Brooten, Chippewa Falls township, Cyrus, Farwell, Gilchrist township, Glenwood, Grove Lake township, Hoff township, Langhei township, Long Beach, Lowry, Minnewaska township, New Prairie township, Nora township, Reno township, Rolling Forks township, Sedan, Starbuck, Villard, Walden township, White Bear Lake township.

Counties near Pope 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: 1,645 samples in Pope 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 Pope County, up to 639 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 6,591 people on private wells in Pope 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: 2,140 well records in Pope County, 1,170 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: 171 regulated sites located in Pope 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.