Well water in Dorset, Vermont
In Dorset, 3% of 77 private wells tested had uranium above the Vermont limit (20 ug/L), according to the Vermont Department of Health.
121 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.
| Contaminant | Wells tested | Above state level | Median | 95th pct | Highest | State level | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross alpha Gross Alpha | 50 | 10% | 1.7 | 61.5 | 295 | 15 pCi/L | |
| Uranium | 77 | 3% | 1 | 11 | 43 | 20 ug/L | |
| Arsenic | 121 | 3% | * | 2 | 35 | 10 ug/L | |
| Fluoride | 80 | 0% | 0.05 | 0.15 | 0.22 | 4 mg/L | |
| Nitrate | 71 | 0% | 0.25 | 1.36 | 2.5 | 10 mg/L |
* suppressed by the publisher because too few wells were tested.
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What this means
Among homeowners in Dorset who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were uranium (3% of 77 wells) and arsenic (3% of 121 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.
What to test for in Dorset
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)9 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- Metals panel4 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- Gross alpha10% of 50 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- Uranium3% of 77 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- Arsenic3% of 121 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
Wells in Dorset
357 domestic wells in Dorset are on record with the state since 1996. 94% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 320 feet deep (one in ten goes past 580 feet).
In a typical Dorset well, bedrock starts about 28 feet down, the median yield is 20 gallons per minute, 9% 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.
Contamination sources on record in Dorset
Vermont ANR records 9 leaking underground storage tank sites and 4 hazardous waste sites in Dorset, among 21 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.
- 9
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 4
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 8
- 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
- Gross alpha
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Water softener (cation exchange) for radium; Anion exchange for uranium
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Common questions
How deep are wells in Dorset?
The typical domestic well in Dorset is 320 feet deep, based on 357 wells reported to the state since 1996. One in ten is deeper than 580 feet. 94% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Dorset?
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 Dorset, up to 121 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: 415 well records in Dorset, 357 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: 21 regulated sites located in Dorset. 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.