Well water in Oneida County, New York

1in10

Testing recommended

tested well samples in Oneida County exceeded the EPA limit for arsenic (10 ug/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.

646 test results across 13 contaminants from at least 77 wells, 1952 to 2022; iron has the most at 99. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

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

An estimated 104,525 people in Oneida County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 45% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that <1% of the 104,525 people on private wells in Oneida County draw water above 10 ug/L, from geology and well depth rather than local tests.

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Oneida 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
Arsenic 1973 to 2022	10%	48	65%	0.38	17.8	10 ug/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1952 to 2022	0%	95	82%	0.1	1.55	4 mg/L EPA limit
Lead 1973 to 2022	0%	48	54%	0.064	12	15 ug/L EPA limit
Copper 1973 to 2022	0%	48	83%	0.001	0.03	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Uranium 2002 to 2022	0%	38	84%	0.251	1.56	30 ug/L EPA limit
E. coli 2007 to 2022	0%	22	0%	0	0	0 MPN/100mL EPA limit
Radium (226 + 228) 2006	0%	10	70%	0.086	0.4	5 pCi/L EPA limit
Iron 1952 to 2022	no limit	99	86%	138	40,000	300 ug/L nuisance level
Chloride 1952 to 2022	no limit	96	100%	7.94	10,000	250 mg/L nuisance level
Manganese 1956 to 2022	no limit	93	85%	30	9,600	300 ug/L health guideline
Radon 1994 to 2022	no limit	43	100%	140	1,120	2,000 pCi/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Nitrate (3), Sodium (3).

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
Fluoride	0%58 samples	0%17 samples	0%14 samples	n/a
Arsenic	0%10 samples	22%18 samples	0%14 samples	n/a
Lead	0%10 samples	0%18 samples	0%14 samples	n/a
Copper	0%10 samples	0%18 samples	0%14 samples	n/a
Uranium	n/a	0%18 samples	0%14 samples	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 address

What this means

The contaminants most often above their limit here are arsenic (10% of 48 samples). A well next door can differ sharply from yours because bedrock fractures, well depth and plumbing all matter, so these rates describe the area, not your tap.

Iron, Chloride, and Manganese are widespread in local groundwater. They are mainly a staining and taste problem, but high manganese also carries a health advisory for infants.

What to test for in Oneida County

1
Arsenic
10% of 48 local samples were above the limit.
2
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
3
Radon
Median local reading is 140 pCi/L.
4
Nitrate
Recommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
5
Chloride
Detected in 100% of local samples.
6
Iron
Detected in 86% of local samples.
7
Manganese
Detected in 85% of local samples.
8
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
64 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
9
Metals panel
64 hazardous waste sites on record locally.

Test your Oneida County well for arsenic, coliform bacteria 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 York: certified labs, state programs and prices.

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

Wells in Oneida County

2,975 domestic wells in Oneida County are on record with the state. the typical well is 100 feet deep (one in ten goes past 240 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 Oneida County

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 county 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 Oneida County

NYSDEC remediation sites records 64 hazardous waste sites in Oneida County, among 120 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.

64: hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
56: other remediation projects

Treatment that fits the local profile

Arsenic

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

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

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 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 Oneida County

No water treatment company serves Oneida County 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 Oneida County, and you get an email naming it first.

Common questions

How deep are wells in Oneida County?

The typical domestic well in Oneida County is 100 feet deep, based on 2,975 wells reported to the state. One in ten is deeper than 240 feet.

Is there arsenic in well water in Oneida County?

Arsenic was detected in 65% of 48 public well samples in Oneida County, and 10% 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 Oneida County?

The median radon level across 43 public samples in Oneida County was 140 pCi/L, with a high of 1,120 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.

How often should I test a private well in Oneida 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 Oneida County

28 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Oneida County totals above rather than shown separately: Annsville, Augusta, Ava, Boonville, Bridgewater, Camden, Deerfield, Florence, Floyd, Forestport, Kirkland, Lee, Marcy, Marshall, New Hartford, Paris, Remsen, Rome, Sangerfield, Steuben, Trenton, Utica, Vernon, Verona, Vienna, Western, Westmoreland, Whitestown.

Counties near Oneida 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 York dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.

Sources

USGS Water Quality Portal: 646 samples in Oneida 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.
USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 104,525 people on private wells in Oneida 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.
NYSDEC water well completion reports: 3,041 well records in Oneida County, 2,975 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: 120 regulated sites located in Oneida County. 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.