Well water in Vermont
In Vermont, 3% of 22,062 private wells tested had arsenic above the Vermont limit (10 ug/L), according to the Vermont Department of Health.
The strongest signal is nitrate: 3% of 286 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
23,363 private wells tested in state summaries; 961 test results across 13 contaminants from at least 104 wells, 1966 to 2023; nitrate has the most at 286. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 243,796 people in Vermont get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 4% of the 243,796 people on private wells in Vermont draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 3% to 5%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What homeowner tests found
Vermont Tracking private well summaries: private wells tested and reported to the state. Shares are against the level the state applies to each contaminant, named in the last column; several are stricter than EPA. County and state figures combine the town summaries, weighted by wells tested; medians are not combined.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Vermont. 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 1966 to 2023 | 286 | 88% | 0.17 | 25.7 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1966 to 2023 | 100 | 68% | 0 | 0.2 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1995 to 2023 | 27 | 44% | 0 | 2.8 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Uranium 1995 to 2023 | 27 | 85% | 0.454 | 8.69 | 30 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 2002 to 2023 | 23 | 61% | 0 | 0.006 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 2002 to 2023 | 23 | 17% | 0 | 0.278 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Radium (226 + 228) 1995 to 2017 | 20 | 65% | 0 | 1.2 | 5 pCi/L EPA limit | |
| Sodium 1966 to 2023 | no limit | 112 | 97% | 4.11 | 1,100 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Manganese 1966 to 2023 | no limit | 110 | 95% | 15.1 | 2,000 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Iron 1966 to 2023 | no limit | 110 | 87% | 24 | 27,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Chloride 1966 to 2023 | no limit | 102 | 99% | 8.35 | 2,070 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Radon 1992 to 2014 | no limit | 13 | 100% | 1,000 | 4,100 | 2,000 pCi/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: E. coli (8).
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 | 4%256 samples | 0%16 samples | 0%12 samples | n/a |
What this means
Among homeowners in Vermont who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (3% of 22,062 wells), uranium (1% of 19,240 wells), and nitrate (<1% of 22,502 wells). These are ordinary wells tested by their owners, so the shares are the best available picture of a typical well here, with one caveat: people test more often when they suspect a problem.
Radon was above the Vermont advisory level of 4,000 pCi/L in 8% of 2,351 wells. Radon in water matters because it moves into indoor air during showers and laundry.
What to test for in Vermont
- 1Nitrate3% of 286 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Arsenic3% of 22,062 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- 3Uranium1% of 19,240 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- 4Fluoride<1% of 23,363 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- 5Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 6Radon8% of 2,351 local wells tested were above the Vermont advisory level.
- 7Gross alpha6% of 12,345 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- 8ChlorideDetected in 99% of local samples.
- 9Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)3,698 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- 10PFAS102 unlined landfills on record locally.
- 11Metals panel1,136 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
Test your Vermont well for nitrate, arsenic and uranium
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 Vermont: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Vermont numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
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Send me the Vermont report
The numbers above, which tests to order and where, and the treatment that fits the local profile, in one email.
Wells in Vermont
52,495 domestic wells in Vermont are on record with the state since 1970. 97% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 310 feet deep (one in ten goes past 560 feet).
In a typical Vermont well, bedrock starts about 20 feet down, the median yield is 8 gallons per minute, 21% 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.
The rock under Vermont
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 state centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.
Official help in Vermont
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.
- Drinking Water, Vermont Department of Health
- Certification Programs for Other Labs, Vermont Department of Health
Contamination sources on record in Vermont
Vermont ANR records 3,698 leaking underground storage tank sites, 102 unlined landfills, 1,136 hazardous waste sites, and 116 reported spills and releases in Vermont, among 7,498 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.
- 3,698
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 102
- unlined landfillsOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
- 1,136
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 116
- reported spills and releasesMost spills are fuel; a few are solvents or chemicals that reach the water table.
- 2,446
- 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
Radon
Aeration (bubble-up or diffused) whole-house; Granular activated carbon whole-house (lower levels only)
Gross alpha
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Water softener (cation exchange) for radium; Anion exchange for uranium
Nitrate
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation
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
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 gross alpha
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.
For manganese
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.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Vermont?
The typical domestic well in Vermont is 310 feet deep, based on 52,495 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 560 feet. 97% are drilled into bedrock.
Is there arsenic in well water in Vermont?
Arsenic was detected in 44% of 27 public well samples in Vermont, 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 high is radon in well water in Vermont?
The median radon level across 13 public samples in Vermont was 1,000 pCi/L, with a high of 4,100 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.
How often should I test a private well in Vermont?
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 in Vermont
Want the numbers themselves? Download the Vermont dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 961 samples in Vermont. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Vermont Tracking private well summaries: summaries for 6 contaminants in Vermont, up to 23,363 wells each. Town summaries of private well tests reported to the Vermont Department of Health, published through Vermont Environmental Public Health Tracking. Shares are against the limit Vermont applies to each analyte: arsenic 10 ug/L, uranium 20 ug/L (stricter than EPA), fluoride 4 mg/L, nitrate 10 mg/L, gross alpha 15 pCi/L, radon 4,000 pCi/L advisory. Only towns with 20 or more results are published; statistics below the reporting limit show as *. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 243,796 people on private wells in Vermont 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.
- Vermont ANR well completion reports: 55,638 well records in Vermont, 52,495 domestic. Well completion reports filed with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources since 1966. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Vermont ANR regulated sites: 7,498 regulated sites located in Vermont. Hazardous waste sites, landfills and underground storage tanks from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Retrieved September 3, 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.