Well water in Amherst, New Hampshire

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Testing strongly recommended

private wells tested between 2006 and 2020 in Amherst had copper above the New Hampshire guidance level (1.3 mg/L), according to NH DHHS.

843 private wells tested 2006 to 2020 in state summaries; 66 test results across 11 contaminants from at least 11 wells, 1963 to 2013; iron has the most at 11. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.

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

Separately, a USGS and NHDES statistical model puts the chance that a bedrock well in Amherst exceeds 5 ug/L of arsenic at 8% (as low as 0% in parts of town), based on geology rather than tests.

What homeowner tests found

NH DHHS WISDOM private well summaries: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2006 to 2020. 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
Radon	54%	35	2,100	14,900	22,494	2,000 pCi/L
Sodium	48%	701	18	120	540	20 mg/L
Copper (stagnant)	20%	61	0.2	3.9	7	1.3 mg/L
Lead (stagnant)	16%	61	2.6	32	116	15 ug/L
Iron	8%	702	0	700	6,000	300 ug/L
Uranium	5%	703	2	29.9	320	30 ug/L
Chloride	3%	711	36	210	850	250 mg/L
Manganese	3%	701	0	200	2,800	300 ug/L
Arsenic	2%	702	0.2	3	41	5 ug/L
Nitrate	1%	75	0.7	6.8	15	10 mg/L
Fluoride	0%	843	0.1	1	3.2	4 mg/L
Nitrite	0%	75	0	0	0	1 mg/L

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Amherst. 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
Iron 1963 to 2013	no limit	11	36%	0	860	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1963 to 2013	no limit	11	91%	0	2,020	300 ug/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Uranium (7), Arsenic (8), Lead (8), Nitrate (4), Fluoride (4), Copper (1), Chloride (4), Radon (4), Sodium (4).

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 address

What this means

Among homeowners in Amherst who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were copper (20% of 61 wells), lead (16% of 61 wells), and uranium (5% of 703 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.

Radon was above the New Hampshire guidance level of 2,000 pCi/L in 54% of 35 wells. Radon in water matters because it moves into indoor air during showers and laundry.

Sodium exceeds the state's advisory level in a sizable share of wells; this is mostly a taste, staining or diet issue rather than a toxicity one.

What to test for in Amherst

1
Copper
20% of 61 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
2
Lead
16% of 61 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
3
Radon
54% of 35 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
4
Uranium
5% of 703 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
5
Arsenic
2% of 702 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
6
Nitrate
1% of 75 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
7
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
8
Sodium
48% of 701 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
9
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
6 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
10
PFAS
2 unlined landfills on record locally.
11
Metals panel
4 hazardous waste sites on record locally.

Test your Amherst well for copper, lead and radon

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 New Hampshire: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

Wells in Amherst

1,248 domestic wells in Amherst are on record with the state since 1984. 92% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 385 feet deep (one in ten goes past 720 feet).

In a typical Amherst well, bedrock starts about 16 feet down, the median yield is 10 gallons per minute, 16% of wells yield under 3 gallons per minute and usually need a storage tank.

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.

242

1980s

413

1990s

260

2000s

189

2010s

143

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 NHDES OneStop and choose Water Well.
Enter your town and one word of your street name. Leave out the house number and the Road or Street part; a short search matches more.
In the results, click Show for your address to see the report: total depth, depth to bedrock, casing, yield in gallons per minute, static water level, and the driller.
Save Results exports the whole list to a spreadsheet.

Reports exist only for wells drilled since January 1984, when reporting became mandatory, and street names are as they were when the well was drilled.

The rock under Amherst

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 town centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.

Official help in New Hampshire

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, NHDES
New Hampshire Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, NHDES

Contamination sources on record in Amherst

NHDES records 6 leaking underground storage tank sites, 2 unlined landfills, 4 hazardous waste sites, and 13 reported spills and releases in Amherst, among 157 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.

6: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
2: unlined landfillsOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
4: hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
13: reported spills and releasesMost spills are fuel; a few are solvents or chemicals that reach the water table.
18: registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
47: locally identified potential contamination sourcesTowns inventory these (vehicle repair, labs, salt piles, farms) when they draw wellhead protection maps.
1: lined landfill or transfer facility
65: other remediation projects
1: other solid waste facility

Treatment that fits the local profile

Copper

Neutralizing filter to raise pH; Point-of-use reverse osmosis

Lead

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

Uranium

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Whole-house anion exchange

Radon

Aeration (bubble-up or diffused) whole-house; Granular activated carbon whole-house (lower levels only)

Sodium

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation

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 copper

Under-sink reverse osmosis system

under-sink or countertop, about $300

Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.

For copper

Acid neutralizing filter

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

Raises pH so plumbing stops leaching lead and copper.

For lead

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 uranium

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 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 Amherst

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Common questions

How deep are wells in Amherst?

The typical domestic well in Amherst is 385 feet deep, based on 1,248 wells reported to the state since 1984. One in ten is deeper than 720 feet. 92% are drilled into bedrock.

How often should I test a private well in Amherst?

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 Amherst

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 New Hampshire dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 66 samples in Amherst. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
NH DHHS WISDOM private well summaries: summaries for 12 contaminants in Amherst, up to 843 wells each. Town summaries of private well tests run by the New Hampshire Public Health Laboratories, published by NH DHHS through the WISDOM environmental public health tracking portal. Exceedance shares use New Hampshire guidance levels, which are stricter than EPA for arsenic (5 ug/L), manganese (0.3 mg/L), radon (2,000 pCi/L) and sodium (20 mg/L). Statistics for small counts are suppressed (*). Retrieved September 3, 2026.
NH DHHS WISDOM private well summaries: modeled chance (8%) that a well in Amherst exceeds 5 ug/L of arsenic, from geology rather than tests. Town summaries of private well tests run by the New Hampshire Public Health Laboratories, published by NH DHHS through the WISDOM environmental public health tracking portal. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
NHDES Water Well Inventory: 1,405 well records in Amherst, 1,248 domestic. Well construction records reported to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Water Well Board. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
NHDES OneStop regulated sites: 157 regulated sites located in Amherst. Remediation sites, underground storage tanks, solid waste facilities and potential contamination sources from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services OneStop database. Retrieved September 3, 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.