Well water in Letterkenny township, Pennsylvania
In Letterkenny township, none of 242 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate, based on public data 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.
1,271 test results across 11 contaminants from at least 15 wells, 1979 to 2026; nitrate has the most at 242. 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 Letterkenny 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate 1979 to 2026 | 242 | 34% | 0 | 3.9 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1979 to 2026 | 160 | 99% | 0.22 | 0.72 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1981 to 2026 | 159 | 4% | 0 | 5.6 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1981 to 2026 | 159 | 50% | 0.23 | 6.5 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 2016 to 2026 | 95 | 12% | 0 | 0.022 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1979 to 2026 | no limit | 160 | 93% | 2.9 | 68 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Iron 1981 to 2026 | no limit | 159 | 75% | 430 | 45,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1981 to 2026 | no limit | 91 | 93% | 160 | 2,560 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Sodium 1981 to 2026 | no limit | 28 | 100% | 10.2 | 25.7 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: PFOS (9), PFOA (9).
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 | n/a | n/a | 0%102 samples | 0%137 samples |
| Fluoride | n/a | n/a | 0%75 samples | 0%83 samples |
| Lead | n/a | n/a | 0%75 samples | 0%83 samples |
| Arsenic | n/a | n/a | 0%75 samples | 0%83 samples |
| Copper | n/a | n/a | 0%48 samples | 0%47 samples |
Nitrate, fluoride, lead, arsenic, copper have held within a few points between the two most recent periods with enough 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 addressWhat this means
Among contaminants with a federal limit, no tested sample in Letterkenny township came back above it. That is reassuring, but sampling is uneven: wells that were never tested are not in this data.
Chloride, Iron, 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 Letterkenny township
- 1Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 2NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 3PFOSAbove the limit in 2 of 9 local samples; too few to quote a rate.
- 4PFOAAbove the limit in 1 of 9 local samples; too few to quote a rate.
- 5FluorideDetected in 99% of local samples.
- 6ManganeseDetected in 93% of local samples.
- 7ChlorideDetected in 93% of local samples.
Test your Letterkenny township well for coliform bacteria, nitrate and PFOS
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 Pennsylvania: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Letterkenny township numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Letterkenny township
287 domestic wells in Letterkenny township are on record with the state. 100% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 142 feet deep (one in ten goes past 300 feet).
In a typical Letterkenny township well, bedrock starts about 32 feet down, the median yield is 20 gallons per minute, <1% 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.
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 PaGWIS (Pennsylvania Geological Survey) and choose Water Well.
- The record lists depth, depth to bedrock, yield and use; drillers have reported new wells to the state since 1966.
Pennsylvania has no private well construction standard and does not require testing, so many older wells have no record at all.
The rock under Letterkenny township
Valley and Ridge aquifers
Sandstone and carbonate-rock. Layered sandstone and limestone means a well may draw from either. Hardness and iron are routine, and the limestone layers can carry bacteria and nitrate from the surface quickly, so test for both yearly.
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 Pennsylvania
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, PA DEP
- Laboratory Accreditation Program, PA DEP
Treatment that fits the local profile
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
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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 Letterkenny township
No water treatment company serves Letterkenny 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 Letterkenny township, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Letterkenny township?
The typical domestic well in Letterkenny township is 142 feet deep, based on 287 wells reported to the state. One in ten is deeper than 300 feet. 100% are drilled into bedrock.
Is there arsenic in well water in Letterkenny township?
Arsenic was detected in 50% of 159 public well samples in Letterkenny 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 Letterkenny 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 Letterkenny 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 Pennsylvania dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 1,271 samples in Letterkenny 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.
- Pennsylvania Groundwater Information System (PaGWIS) wells: 343 well records in Letterkenny township, 287 domestic. Water well records from the Pennsylvania Groundwater Information System, Pennsylvania Geological Survey (DCNR). Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. 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.