Well water in Hickman County, Tennessee
In Hickman County, none of 33 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for radium (226 + 228), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
The strongest signal is fluoride: 8% of 25 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
219 test results across 12 contaminants from at least 23 wells, 1982 to 1991; radium (226 + 228) has the most at 33. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 6,519 people in Hickman County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 27% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that <1% of the 6,519 people on private wells in Hickman 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 Hickman 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fluoride 1982 to 1991 | 25 | 96% | 0.1 | 8 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Radium (226 + 228) 1989 | 33 | 100% | 0 | 3 | 5 pCi/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrate 1982 to 1991 | 24 | 83% | 0.38 | 10 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Uranium 1989 | 18 | 100% | 0.1 | 1.6 | 30 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1982 to 1991 | no limit | 25 | 100% | 2.2 | 150 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Sodium 1982 to 1991 | no limit | 25 | 100% | 2.7 | 190 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Iron 1982 to 1991 | no limit | 23 | 87% | 9 | 3,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1982 to 1991 | no limit | 23 | 70% | 1 | 170 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Radon 1989 | no limit | 18 | 100% | 472 | 1,190 | 2,000 pCi/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Lead (2), Arsenic (2), Copper (1).
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 addressWhat this means
The contaminants most often above their limit here are fluoride (8% of 25 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 Hickman County
- 1Fluoride8% of 25 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 3RadonMedian local reading is 472 pCi/L.
- 4NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 5ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 6IronDetected in 87% of local samples.
- 7ManganeseDetected in 70% of local samples.
Test your Hickman County well for fluoride, 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 Tennessee: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Hickman County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under Hickman County
Silurian-Devonian 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 county centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.
Official help in Tennessee
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.
- Well Water, TDEC
- Lab Certification Program, TDEC
Contamination sources on record in Hickman County
TDEC underground storage tank facilities records 72 regulated sites in Hickman County, among 72 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.
- 72
- registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
Treatment that fits the local profile
Fluoride
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Activated alumina; Distillation
Iron
Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration
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 fluoride
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For fluoride
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 Hickman County
No water treatment company serves Hickman 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 Hickman County, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How high is radon in well water in Hickman County?
The median radon level across 18 public samples in Hickman County was 472 pCi/L, with a high of 1,190 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.
How often should I test a private well in Hickman 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.
Counties near Hickman 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 Tennessee dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 219 samples in Hickman 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 6,519 people on private wells in Hickman 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.
- TDEC underground storage tank facilities: 72 regulated sites located in Hickman County. Underground storage tank facilities from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Retrieved September 18, 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.