Well water in Mineral County, Nevada
1in2
Testing strongly recommended
tested well samples in Mineral County exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
557 test results across 13 contaminants from at least 55 wells, 1976 to 2013; nitrate has the most at 346. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 78 people in Mineral County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 2% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 2% of the 78 people on private wells in Mineral County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 1% to 2%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Mineral 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate 1976 to 2013 | 346 | 99% | 8 | 1,800 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1978 to 2013 | 32 | 100% | 1.25 | 9.81 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1976 to 2013 | no limit | 53 | 100% | 86.5 | 1,500 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1976 to 2013 | no limit | 48 | 100% | 263 | 1,330 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Iron 1978 to 2013 | no limit | 32 | 69% | 19.4 | 351,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 2005 to 2013 | no limit | 23 | 91% | 26.3 | 15,300 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Arsenic (4), Copper (4), Uranium (4), Lead (4), Radium (226 + 228) (1), E. coli (1), Radon (5).
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
The contaminants most often above their limit here are nitrate (47% of 346 samples) and fluoride (22% of 32 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.
Chloride, Iron, and Manganese 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 Mineral County
- 1Nitrate47% of 346 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Fluoride22% of 32 local samples were above the limit.
- 3Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 4RadonMedian local reading is 1,140 pCi/L.
- 5ArsenicAbove the limit in 3 of 4 local samples; too few to quote a rate.
- 6ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 7ManganeseDetected in 91% of local samples.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)36 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
Test your Mineral County well for nitrate, fluoride and coliform bacteria
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 Nevada: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Mineral County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Mineral County
110 domestic wells in Mineral County are on record with the state since 1970. the typical well is 124 feet deep (one in ten goes past 442 feet).
In a typical Mineral County well, the median yield is 22 gallons per minute.
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 Mineral County
Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers
Unconsolidated sand and gravel. Wells in sand and gravel are usually shallow and productive, and they recharge quickly from the surface. That makes them the most exposed to nitrate, bacteria and anything spilled nearby, and the least likely to carry arsenic or radon from the rock.
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 Mineral County
NDEP corrective action release events records 36 leaking underground storage tank sites in Mineral County, among 46 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.
- 36
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 10
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
Nitrate
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation
Fluoride
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Activated alumina; Distillation
Chloride
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation
Manganese
Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
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 nitrate
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For nitrate
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 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 Mineral County
No water treatment company serves Mineral 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 Mineral County, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Mineral County?
The typical domestic well in Mineral County is 124 feet deep, based on 110 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 442 feet.
How often should I test a private well in Mineral 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 Mineral 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: 557 samples in Mineral 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 78 people on private wells in Mineral 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: 1,045 well records in Mineral County, 110 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: 46 regulated sites located in Mineral 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.