Well water in Harrison township, New Jersey

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Testing recommended

private wells tested between 2002 and 2024 in Harrison township had total coliform above the New Jersey limit (any detection), according to NJDEP.

684 private wells tested 2002 to 2024 in state summaries; 168 test results across 12 contaminants from at least 11 wells, 1957 to 2026; sodium has the most at 35. Data refreshed September 9, 2026.

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

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.

Contaminant	Above state level	Wells tested	State level
Iron	38%	684	300 ug/L
Total coliform	15%	675
Manganese	13%	684	50 ug/L
E. coli Fecal coliform or	1%	675
Nitrate	<1%	684	10 mg/L
Gross alpha	<1%	666	15 pCi/L
Arsenic	0%	278	5 ug/L
PFNA	0%	132	13 ng/L
PFOS	0%	132	13 ng/L
PFOA	0%	132	14 ng/L

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Harrison township. 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
Lead 1970 to 2022	8%	13	46%	0	20	15 ug/L EPA limit
Nitrate 1980 to 2026	4%	23	83%	4.35	10.3	10 mg/L EPA limit
Arsenic 1982 to 2025	0%	16	50%	0.055	5.9	10 ug/L EPA limit
Sodium 1957 to 2025	no limit	35	100%	110	240	20 mg/L health guideline
Manganese 1957 to 2025	no limit	31	97%	27.6	120	300 ug/L health guideline
Iron 1957 to 2025	no limit	31	77%	50	990	300 ug/L nuisance level

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: PFOA (3), Radium (226 + 228) (6), Uranium (3), PFOS (3), Radon (3), Chloride (1).

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.

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What this means

Among homeowners in Harrison township who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were total coliform (15% of 675 wells), E. coli (1% of 675 wells), and nitrate (<1% of 684 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.

Iron and manganese 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 Harrison township

1
Total coliform
15% of 675 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit (any detection).
2
Lead
8% of 13 local samples were above the limit.
3
Nitrate
4% of 23 local samples were above the limit.
4
E. coli
1% of 675 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit (any detection).
5
Gross alpha
<1% of 666 local wells tested were above the New Jersey limit.
6
Radon
Median local reading is 350 pCi/L.
7
Iron
38% of 684 local wells tested were above the New Jersey nuisance level.
8
Manganese
13% of 684 local wells tested were above the New Jersey nuisance level.

Test your Harrison township well for total coliform, lead and nitrate

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 Jersey: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

The rock under Harrison township

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system

Semiconsolidated sand. Coastal plain sands like these give steady yields at moderate depth. Salt water and sodium are the usual issues near the coast, and nitrate where the water table is shallow; arsenic and radon from bedrock are less common.

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 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 Harrison township

NJDEP records 47 regulated sites in Harrison township, among 47 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.

30: registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
1: lined landfill or transfer facility
16: other remediation projects

Treatment that fits the local profile

Total coliform

Inspect and repair the well cap and casing, then shock chlorinate and retest; UV disinfection whole-house; Chlorination system

Iron

Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration

Manganese

Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis

Lead

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

Nitrate

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation

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 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 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.

For lead

Under-sink reverse osmosis system

under-sink or countertop, about $300

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

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 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.

Free, no obligation

Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Harrison township

No water treatment company serves Harrison township 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 Harrison township, and you get an email naming it first.

Common questions

Is there arsenic in well water in Harrison township?

Arsenic was detected in 50% of 16 public well samples in Harrison township, 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 Harrison township?

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 Harrison township

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

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 168 samples in Harrison township. 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 10 contaminants in Harrison township, up to 684 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.
NJDEP regulated sites: 47 regulated sites located in Harrison township. 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.