Well water in North Elba, New York
In North Elba, sodium was detected in 100% of 129 tested well samples from USGS Water Quality Portal.
The strongest signal is coliform bacteria: Recommended for every private well, every year, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
279 test results across 10 contaminants from at least 12 wells, 2004 to 2022; sodium has the most at 129. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside North Elba. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium 2004 to 2022 | no limit | 129 | 100% | 105 | 1,440 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Chloride 2004 to 2022 | no limit | 128 | 100% | 206 | 2,280 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Copper (3), Uranium (3), Lead (3), Fluoride (3), Arsenic (3), E. coli (1), Manganese (3), Radon (3).
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 addressWhat this means
Among contaminants with a federal limit, no tested sample in North Elba came back above it. That is reassuring, but sampling is uneven: wells that were never tested are not in this data.
Chloride is widespread in local groundwater. It is mainly a staining and taste problem, but high manganese also carries a health advisory for infants.
What to test for in North Elba
- 1Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 2RadonMedian local reading is 100 pCi/L.
- 3NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 4ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 5CopperDetected in 67% of local samples.
- 6Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)2 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- 7Metals panel2 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your North Elba well for coliform bacteria, radon 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 $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 York: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the North Elba numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in North Elba
151 domestic wells in North Elba are on record with the state. the typical well is 400 feet deep (one in ten goes past 668 feet).
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 NYSDEC water well completion reports and choose Water Well.
- The report lists depth, depth to bedrock, cased depth, yield and the driller.
Drillers have filed reports with the state since April 2000; a well drilled before then usually has no record.
The rock under North Elba
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 York
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, NYSDOH
- Environmental Laboratory Approval Program, NYSDOH
Contamination sources on record in North Elba
NYSDEC remediation sites records 2 hazardous waste sites in North Elba, among 3 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.
- 2
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 1
- other remediation project
Treatment that fits the local profile
Chloride
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; 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 chloride
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in North Elba
No water treatment company serves North Elba 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 North Elba, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in North Elba?
The typical domestic well in North Elba is 400 feet deep, based on 151 wells reported to the state. One in ten is deeper than 668 feet.
How often should I test a private well in North Elba?
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 North Elba
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 York dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 279 samples in North Elba. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- NYSDEC water well completion reports: 158 well records in North Elba, 151 domestic. Water well completion reports filed with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Water Well Contractor Program since 2000. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- NYSDEC remediation sites: 3 regulated sites located in North Elba. State Superfund, brownfield, voluntary cleanup, RCRA and spill remediation sites from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Remediation Sites database. Retrieved September 16, 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.