Well water in Bow, New Hampshire

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Testing strongly recommended

private wells tested between 2006 and 2020 in Bow had arsenic above the New Hampshire guidance level (5 ug/L), according to NH DHHS.

689 private wells tested 2006 to 2020 in state summaries; 555 test results across 15 contaminants from at least 62 wells, 1969 to 2022; nitrate has the most at 77. 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 Bow exceeds 5 ug/L of arsenic at 47% (as low as 25% 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	75%	394	8155	68,040	180,000	2,000 pCi/L
Arsenic	65%	689	9.5	90.4	446	5 ug/L
Sodium	49%	553	18.5	151	321	20 mg/L
Copper (stagnant)	13%	533	0.1	3.7	9.2	1.3 mg/L
Iron	13%	557	0	1,200	44,500	300 ug/L
Lead (stagnant)	12%	536	1.7	48.9	482	15 ug/L
Manganese	9%	557	0	700	22,700	300 ug/L
Uranium	6%	558	2	34.2	2,880	30 ug/L
Chloride	6%	598	28	260	540	250 mg/L
Fluoride	<1%	625	0.3	1.3	6	4 mg/L
Nitrate	<1%	594	0	3.3	11	10 mg/L
Nitrite	0%	594	0	0	0.3	1 mg/L

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Bow. 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 1988 to 2022	49%	37	78%	9	237	10 ug/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1970 to 2021	0%	77	48%	0	3.19	10 mg/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1970 to 2021	0%	67	87%	0.4	2.3	4 mg/L EPA limit
Lead 1988 to 2022	0%	17	59%	0.157	0.631	15 ug/L EPA limit
Copper 1988 to 2022	0%	16	88%	0.01	0.151	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Uranium 1990 to 2022	0%	15	80%	0.156	11.9	30 ug/L EPA limit
Chloride 1969 to 2021	no limit	76	72%	4.75	301	250 mg/L nuisance level
Manganese 1970 to 2022	no limit	74	65%	45	2,900	300 ug/L health guideline
Iron 1969 to 2021	no limit	68	71%	100	9,660	300 ug/L nuisance level
Sodium 1970 to 2021	no limit	66	95%	11.5	68.2	20 mg/L health guideline
Radon 1988 to 2001	no limit	29	100%	6,400	37,000	2,000 pCi/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: PFOS (1), PFOA (1), Radium (226 + 228) (9), E. coli (2).

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
Arsenic	61%23 samples	n/a	n/a	36%11 samples

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 Bow who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (65% of 689 wells), copper (13% of 533 wells), and lead (12% of 536 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 75% of 394 wells. Radon in water matters because it moves into indoor air during showers and laundry.

Sodium and iron exceed the state's advisory level in a sizable share of wells; these are mostly a taste, staining or diet issue rather than a toxicity one.

What to test for in Bow

1
Arsenic
65% of 689 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
2
Radon
75% of 394 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
3
Copper
13% of 533 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
4
Lead
12% of 536 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
5
Uranium
6% of 558 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
6
Fluoride
<1% of 625 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
7
Nitrate
<1% of 594 local wells tested were above the New Hampshire guidance level.
8
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
9
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
6 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
10
PFAS
3 unlined landfills on record locally.
11
Metals panel
4 hazardous waste sites on record locally.

Test your Bow well for arsenic, radon and copper

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

Wells in Bow

1,056 domestic wells in Bow are on record with the state since 1984. 99% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 325 feet deep (one in ten goes past 640 feet).

In a typical Bow well, bedrock starts about 24 feet down, the median yield is 7.5 gallons per minute, 15% 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.

375

1980s

228

1990s

187

2000s

176

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 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 Bow

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 Bow

NHDES records 6 leaking underground storage tank sites, 3 unlined landfills, 4 hazardous waste sites, and 7 reported spills and releases in Bow, among 114 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.
3: 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.
7: 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.
18: 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
53: other remediation projects
4: other solid waste facilities

Treatment that fits the local profile

Arsenic

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

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)

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 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 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.

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Common questions

How deep are wells in Bow?

The typical domestic well in Bow is 325 feet deep, based on 1,056 wells reported to the state since 1984. One in ten is deeper than 640 feet. 99% are drilled into bedrock.

Is there arsenic in well water in Bow?

Arsenic was detected in 78% of 37 public well samples in Bow, and 49% 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 high is radon in well water in Bow?

The median radon level across 29 public samples in Bow was 6,400 pCi/L, with a high of 37,000 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.

How often should I test a private well in Bow?

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 Bow

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: 555 samples in Bow. 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 Bow, up to 689 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 (47%) that a well in Bow 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: 1,179 well records in Bow, 1,056 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: 114 regulated sites located in Bow. 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.