Well water in Sunderland, Vermont
In Sunderland, none of 38 private wells tested had arsenic above the Vermont limit (10 ug/L), according to the Vermont Department of Health.
38 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenic | 38 | 0% | * | * | 5 | 10 ug/L | |
| Nitrate | 31 | 0% | 0.25 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 10 mg/L | |
| Uranium | 30 | 0% | * | 3 | 3 | 20 ug/L | |
| Fluoride | 29 | 0% | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.15 | 4 mg/L |
* suppressed by the publisher because too few wells were tested.
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What this means
Among homeowners in Sunderland 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 Sunderland
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)3 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- PFAS2 unlined landfills on record locally.
- Metals panel1 hazardous waste site on record locally.
- Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
Wells in Sunderland
165 domestic wells in Sunderland are on record with the state since 1996. 93% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 240 feet deep (one in ten goes past 423 feet).
In a typical Sunderland well, bedrock starts about 65 feet down, the median yield is 30 gallons per minute.
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 Sunderland
Vermont ANR records 3 leaking underground storage tank sites, 2 unlined landfills, and 1 hazardous waste site in Sunderland, among 6 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
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 2
- unlined landfillsOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
- 1
- hazardous waste siteSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
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Common questions
How deep are wells in Sunderland?
The typical domestic well in Sunderland is 240 feet deep, based on 165 wells reported to the state since 1996. One in ten is deeper than 423 feet. 93% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Sunderland?
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 4 contaminants in Sunderland, up to 38 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: 181 well records in Sunderland, 165 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: 6 regulated sites located in Sunderland. 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.