Well water in Essex County, New Jersey
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Testing recommended
private wells tested between 2002 and 2024 in Essex County had arsenic above the New Jersey limit (5 ug/L), according to NJDEP.
The strongest signal is PFOA: 17% of 24 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
231 private wells tested 2002 to 2024 in state summaries; 336 test results across 12 contaminants from at least 33 wells, 1925 to 2025; iron has the most at 62. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 4,536 people in Essex County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about <1% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that <1% of the 4,536 people on private wells in Essex County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is <1% to 1%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What homeowner tests found
NJDEP Private Well Testing Act summaries: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2002 to 2024. 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 Essex 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 1987 to 2025 | 48 | 94% | 1.63 | 7.44 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1987 to 2025 | 41 | 71% | 0.39 | 7 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1986 to 2025 | 38 | 34% | 0 | 10 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Iron 1925 to 2025 | no limit | 62 | 56% | 3.65 | 30,400 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1959 to 2025 | no limit | 61 | 100% | 21 | 272 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Manganese 1959 to 2025 | no limit | 61 | 67% | 0 | 7,330 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: PFOA (6), PFOS (6), Radium (226 + 228) (6), Uranium (5), Radon (1), Chloride (1).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate | 0%22 samples | 0%11 samples | n/a | n/a |
| Arsenic | 0%16 samples | 0%10 samples | n/a | n/a |
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 Essex County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were PFOA (17% of 24 wells), arsenic (11% of 231 wells), and total coliform (11% of 231 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.
Manganese 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 Essex County
- 1PFOA17% of 24 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit.
- 2Arsenic11% of 231 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit.
- 3Total coliform11% of 231 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit (any detection).
- 4Nitrate<1% of 231 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit.
- 5Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 6RadonMedian local reading is 1,400 pCi/L.
- 7Manganese21% of 231 local wells tested were above the New Jersey nuisance level.
- 8Iron14% of 231 local wells tested were above the New Jersey nuisance level.
- 9Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)8 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- 10Metals panel8 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your Essex County well for PFOA, arsenic and total coliform
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 New Jersey: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Essex County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under Essex County
Early Mesozoic basin aquifers
Sandstone. Sandstone wells draw from pore space in the rock and tend to be dependable. Iron, manganese and hardness are common, and some sandstones carry arsenic or radium, so a first test should include both.
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 New Jersey
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, NJDEP
- Certified Laboratories, NJDEP
Contamination sources on record in Essex County
NJDEP records 8 hazardous waste sites in Essex County, among 5,239 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.
- 8
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 3,684
- registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
- 11
- lined landfills and transfer facilities
- 1,536
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
PFOA
Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
Arsenic
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange
Total coliform
Inspect and repair the well cap and casing, then shock chlorinate and retest; UV disinfection whole-house; Chlorination system
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 PFOA
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For PFOA
Whole-house PFAS carbon system
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $3,000
Granular activated carbon certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for PFOA and PFOS; replace media on schedule.
For PFOA
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 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 total coliform
Aquasana Rhino Well Water with UV
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,871
Whole-house system built for wells: sediment pre-filter, KDF and carbon, and a UV lamp rated to kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses. It does not remove arsenic, nitrate, uranium or radon.
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 Essex County
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Common questions
Is there arsenic in well water in Essex County?
Arsenic was detected in 71% of 41 public well samples in Essex 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 Essex 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.
Towns in Essex County
21 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Essex County totals above rather than shown separately: Belleville township, Bloomfield township, Caldwell borough, Cedar Grove township, City of Orange township, East Orange, Essex Fells borough, Glen Ridge borough, Irvington township, Livingston township, Maplewood township, Millburn township, Montclair township, Newark, North Caldwell borough, Nutley township, Roseland borough, South Orange Village township, Verona township, West Caldwell township, West Orange township.
Counties near Essex 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 New Jersey dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 336 samples in Essex 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.
- NJDEP Private Well Testing Act summaries: summaries for 11 contaminants in Essex County, up to 231 wells each. Share of private wells exceeding each standard in tests required at sale or lease under the New Jersey Private Well Testing Act, September 2002 to December 2024, published by NJDEP. Tests are untreated water at the time of sale or lease, so every well is counted once per transaction. Municipalities with fewer than ten wells are suppressed. Standards are New Jersey's: arsenic 5 ug/L, PFOA 14 ng/L, PFOS 13 ng/L, PFNA 13 ng/L, manganese and iron secondary standards. Uranium and PFAS were added to the required panel in 2021 and 2020, so their well counts are smaller. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
- USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 4,536 people on private wells in Essex 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.
- NJDEP regulated sites: 5,239 regulated sites located in Essex County. Known Contaminated Sites, regulated underground storage tank facilities and solid waste landfills from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ-GeoWeb). Retrieved September 9, 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.