Well water in Lincoln County, Nevada

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Testing recommended

tested well samples in Lincoln County exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.

The strongest signal is arsenic: 17% of 18 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.

328 test results across 13 contaminants from at least 35 wells, 1974 to 2021; lead has the most at 36. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

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

An estimated 562 people in Lincoln County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 11% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 8% of the 562 people on private wells in Lincoln County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 6% to 10%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Lincoln 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 1974 to 2021	17%	18	100%	3.95	21.5	10 ug/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1974 to 2013	6%	34	91%	1.35	18	10 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1974 to 2021	3%	33	97%	0.6	6.5	4 mg/L EPA limit
Lead 1974 to 2021	3%	36	28%	0	160	15 ug/L EPA limit
Copper 1974 to 2021	0%	36	36%	0	0.02	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Uranium 1981 to 2021	0%	14	93%	2.26	23	30 ug/L EPA limit
Sodium 1974 to 2021	no limit	36	100%	26.1	150	20 mg/L health guideline
Manganese 1974 to 2021	no limit	36	72%	5.5	520	300 ug/L health guideline
Iron 1974 to 2021	no limit	36	64%	7.35	1,890	300 ug/L nuisance level
Chloride 1974 to 2021	no limit	35	100%	19	140	250 mg/L nuisance level

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: E. coli (3), Radium (226 + 228) (2), Radon (9).

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

The contaminants most often above their limit here are arsenic (17% of 18 samples), nitrate (6% of 34 samples), and fluoride (3% of 33 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.

Manganese, Iron, 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 Lincoln County

1
Arsenic
17% of 18 local samples were above the limit.
2
Nitrate
6% of 34 local samples were above the limit.
3
Fluoride
3% of 33 local samples were above the limit.
4
Lead
3% of 36 local samples were above the limit.
5
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
6
Radon
Median local reading is 790 pCi/L.
7
Chloride
Detected in 100% of local samples.
8
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
25 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.

Test your Lincoln County well for arsenic, 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 $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 Nevada: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

Wells in Lincoln County

613 domestic wells in Lincoln County are on record with the state since 1970. the typical well is 160 feet deep (one in ten goes past 290 feet).

In a typical Lincoln County well, the median yield is 25 gallons per minute, <1% of wells yield under 3 gallons per minute and usually need a storage tank.

1970s

1980s

114

1990s

164

2000s

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 NDWR well driller reports and choose Water Well.
The report lists depth, casing, static water level and the yield test.

Nevada has required driller reports since the 1940s, so most wells have one.

The rock under Lincoln 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 Nevada

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 wells, NDEP
Get Your Drinking Water Tested, NDEP

Contamination sources on record in Lincoln County

NDEP corrective action release events records 25 leaking underground storage tank sites in Lincoln County, among 27 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.

25: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
2: 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

Fluoride

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Activated alumina; Distillation

Lead

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

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 manganese

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 Lincoln County

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

Common questions

How deep are wells in Lincoln County?

The typical domestic well in Lincoln County is 160 feet deep, based on 613 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 290 feet.

Is there arsenic in well water in Lincoln County?

Arsenic was detected in 100% of 18 public well samples in Lincoln County, and 17% 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Nevada dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 328 samples in Lincoln 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 562 people on private wells in Lincoln 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.
Nevada NDWR well driller reports: 1,651 well records in Lincoln County, 613 domestic. Well driller reports filed with the Nevada Division of Water Resources. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
NDEP corrective action release events: 27 regulated sites located in Lincoln County. Leaking tank and other release events under corrective action at the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. Retrieved September 18, 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.