Well water in Macon County, Missouri
In Macon County, none of 79 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for fluoride, based on public data 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.
21 private wells tested 2010 to 2023 in state summaries; 510 test results across 9 contaminants from at least 30 wells, 1936 to 1984; iron has the most at 85. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
Missouri does not require private well testing, so these are samples homeowners chose to send to the state lab, often after a problem; shares above the limit run higher than a random survey would find.
What homeowner tests found
Missouri DHSS private well sampling summaries: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2010 to 2023. Shares are against the level the state applies to each contaminant, named in the last column; several are stricter than EPA.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Macon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fluoride 1961 to 1984 | 79 | 100% | 0.4 | 2.8 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrate 1936 to 1984 | 53 | 62% | 0.05 | 3.1 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1981 to 1984 | 19 | 79% | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1981 to 1984 | 19 | 53% | 0 | 0 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1981 to 1982 | 18 | 89% | 2 | 4 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Iron 1961 to 1984 | no limit | 85 | 100% | 5,100 | 180,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Chloride 1936 to 1984 | no limit | 80 | 100% | 4 | 280 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1936 to 1984 | no limit | 79 | 100% | 69 | 740 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Manganese 1969 to 1984 | no limit | 78 | 100% | 4,450 | 32,000 | 300 ug/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
Among homeowners in Macon County 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 Macon County
- 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.
- 4IronDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 5ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 6ManganeseDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 7CopperDetected in 79% of local samples.
Test your Macon County 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 Missouri: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Macon County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Macon County
38 domestic wells in Macon County are on record with the state since 1987. the typical well is 28 feet deep (one in ten goes past 523 feet).
In a typical Macon County well, the median yield is 40 gallons per minute, 40% of wells yield under 3 gallons per minute and usually need a storage tank.
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 Missouri DNR WIMS and choose Water Well.
- The certification record lists total depth, casing length, static water level, yield and the driller.
Missouri has required certification of new private wells since 1987, so a well drilled before then usually has no record.
The rock under Macon 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 Missouri
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 Drinking Water, Missouri DHSS
- Certified Laboratories, Missouri DNR
Contamination sources on record in Macon County
Missouri DNR records 4 regulated sites in Macon County, among 4 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.
- 3
- lined landfills and transfer facilities
- 1
- other solid waste facility
Treatment that fits the local profile
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 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 Macon County
No water treatment company serves Macon 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 Macon County, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Macon County?
The typical domestic well in Macon County is 28 feet deep, based on 38 wells reported to the state since 1987. One in ten is deeper than 523 feet.
Is there arsenic in well water in Macon County?
Arsenic was detected in 89% of 18 public well samples in Macon County, 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 Macon 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.
Counties near Macon 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 Missouri dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 510 samples in Macon 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.
- Missouri DHSS private well sampling summaries: summaries for 5 contaminants in Macon County, up to 21 wells each. County summaries of private well samples analyzed by the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory, 2010 to 2023, published by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Counts are samples, not distinct wells. Shares are against the EPA maximum contaminant level, or the EPA secondary standard for chloride and iron. Counties with fewer than 20 samples are flagged unreliable by DHSS and are kept here with their counts so the threshold rule can judge them. Barium, sulfate and zinc layers exist but have no contaminant page yet. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- Missouri DNR certified well records: 601 well records in Macon County, 38 domestic. Well certification records from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Wellhead Information Management System (WIMS), published through MSDIS. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- Missouri DNR regulated sites: 4 regulated sites located in Macon County. Permitted solid waste facilities, and leaking tank, underground tank and hazardous waste sites from the historical CARES potential contaminant site inventory, Missouri Department of Natural Resources. 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.