Well water in Earl township, Pennsylvania
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Testing strongly recommended
tested well samples in Earl township exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
202 test results across 10 contaminants from at least 22 wells, 1981 to 2012; nitrate has the most at 111. 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 Earl 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 1981 to 2012 | 111 | 100% | 30 | 185 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| E. coli 2003 to 2007 | 19 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 MPN/100mL EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1981 to 2006 | no limit | 33 | 100% | 20 | 363 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1981 to 1983 | no limit | 26 | 100% | 6.5 | 30 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Arsenic (2), Fluoride (2), Lead (2), Radon (3), Iron (2), Manganese (2).
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 | 65%49 samples | 98%52 samples | 100%10 samples | n/a |
Nitrate above the limit in Earl township rose from 65% of 49 samples before 2000 to 98% of 52 in the 2000s.
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
The contaminants most often above their limit here are nitrate (84% of 111 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.
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 Earl township
- 1Nitrate84% of 111 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 3RadonMedian local reading is 98 pCi/L.
- 4ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 5IronDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 6ManganeseDetected in 100% of local samples.
Test your Earl township well for nitrate, 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 $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 Earl township numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Earl township
224 domestic wells in Earl township are on record with the state. 99% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 260 feet deep (one in ten goes past 520 feet).
In a typical Earl township well, bedrock starts about 28 feet down, the median yield is 15 gallons per minute, 12% 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 Earl township
Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers
Carbonate-rock. Limestone and dolomite move water through cracks and solution channels, sometimes very fast. Bacteria and nitrate can travel from the surface to a well in days, so annual bacteria testing matters more here than most places; hardness is a given.
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
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 nitrate
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For nitrate
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 Earl township
No water treatment company serves Earl 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 Earl township, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Earl township?
The typical domestic well in Earl township is 260 feet deep, based on 224 wells reported to the state. One in ten is deeper than 520 feet. 99% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Earl 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 Earl 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: 202 samples in Earl 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: 394 well records in Earl township, 224 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.