Well water in Ulysses township, Pennsylvania
In Ulysses township, none of 57 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate, based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
The strongest signal is radon: Median local reading is 1,230 pCi/L, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
489 test results across 13 contaminants from at least 6 wells, 1971 to 2026; nitrate has the most at 57. 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 Ulysses 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 1971 to 2026 | 57 | 100% | 0.46 | 4.24 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1971 to 2026 | 51 | 20% | 0 | 0.1 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1981 to 2026 | 51 | 14% | 0 | 0.55 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1981 to 2026 | 51 | 10% | 0 | 1.2 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 2015 to 2026 | 48 | 27% | 0 | 0.015 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Uranium 2015 to 2025 | 17 | 12% | 0 | 0.43 | 30 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Sodium 1971 to 2026 | no limit | 52 | 100% | 0.699 | 27 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Iron 1971 to 2026 | no limit | 52 | 63% | 41 | 930 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1971 to 2026 | no limit | 52 | 94% | 0.95 | 20 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Chloride 1971 to 2026 | no limit | 51 | 100% | 0.46 | 22 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: E. coli (2), Radium (226 + 228) (2), Radon (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate | n/a | n/a | 0%15 samples | 0%35 samples |
| Lead | n/a | n/a | 0%13 samples | 0%35 samples |
| Arsenic | n/a | n/a | 0%13 samples | 0%35 samples |
| Copper | n/a | n/a | 0%13 samples | 0%35 samples |
| Fluoride | n/a | n/a | 0%12 samples | 0%35 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 Ulysses township came back above it. That is reassuring, but sampling is uneven: wells that were never tested are not in this data.
Iron, Manganese, and Chloride 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 Ulysses township
- 1RadonMedian local reading is 1,230 pCi/L.
- 2NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 3E. coliAbove the limit in 1 of 2 local samples; too few to quote a rate.
- 4ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 5ManganeseDetected in 94% of local samples.
- 6IronDetected in 63% of local samples.
Test your Ulysses township well for radon, nitrate and E. coli
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
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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 Ulysses township numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Ulysses township
224 domestic wells in Ulysses township are on record with the state. 100% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 154 feet deep (one in ten goes past 320 feet).
In a typical Ulysses township well, bedrock starts about 23 feet down, the median yield is 15 gallons per minute, 3% 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 Ulysses township
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 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
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Ulysses township
No water treatment company serves Ulysses 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 Ulysses township, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Ulysses township?
The typical domestic well in Ulysses township is 154 feet deep, based on 224 wells reported to the state. One in ten is deeper than 320 feet. 100% are drilled into bedrock.
Is there arsenic in well water in Ulysses township?
Arsenic was detected in 10% of 51 public well samples in Ulysses 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 Ulysses 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 Ulysses 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: 489 samples in Ulysses 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: 243 well records in Ulysses 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.