Well Water Nerd

Well water in Arlington, Vermont

In Arlington, none of 52 private wells tested had arsenic above the Vermont limit (10 ug/L), according to the Vermont Department of Health.

52 private wells tested in state summaries. Data refreshed .

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.

ContaminantWells testedAbove state levelMedian95th pctHighestState level
Arsenic520%**210 ug/L
Fluoride350%0.050.1530.684 mg/L
Nitrate340%0.251.381.6710 mg/L
Uranium340%*4620 ug/L
Gross alpha
Gross Alpha
220%0.95.76.515 pCi/L

* suppressed by the publisher because too few wells were tested.

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What this means

Among homeowners in Arlington who sent a sample to the state lab, no health-based limit was exceeded often enough to publish a share. That is good news, but a single well can still be the exception.

What to test for in Arlington

  • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)14 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
  • Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
  • NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.

Wells in Arlington

364 domestic wells in Arlington are on record with the state since 1976. 95% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 300 feet deep (one in ten goes past 564 feet).

In a typical Arlington well, bedrock starts about 44 feet down, the median yield is 10 gallons per minute, 10% 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.

16
1980s
156
1990s
132
2000s
43
2010s
15
2020s

Contamination sources on record in Arlington

Vermont ANR records 14 leaking underground storage tank sites and 1 reported spill or release in Arlington, among 38 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.

14
leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
1
reported spill or releaseMost spills are fuel; a few are solvents or chemicals that reach the water table.
23
registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.

Book a free water test in Arlington

A licensed local water treatment company tests your tap water in your home, walks you through the numbers, and quotes treatment only if something needs fixing. Free, about 30 minutes, no obligation.

What are you worried about?

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Common questions

How deep are wells in Arlington?

The typical domestic well in Arlington is 300 feet deep, based on 364 wells reported to the state since 1976. One in ten is deeper than 564 feet. 95% are drilled into bedrock.

How often should I test a private well in Arlington?

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.

Sources

  • Vermont Tracking private well summaries: summaries for 5 contaminants in Arlington, up to 52 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.
  • Vermont ANR well completion reports: 382 well records in Arlington, 364 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: 38 regulated sites located in Arlington. 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.