Well water in Sheldon, Vermont
In Sheldon, 3% of 152 private wells tested had nitrate above the Vermont limit (10 mg/L), according to the Vermont Department of Health.
152 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 | 58 | 3% | 2.2 | 14.1 | 19 | 15 pCi/L | |
| Nitrate | 152 | 3% | 0.25 | 5.79 | 13.4 | 10 mg/L | |
| Fluoride | 122 | 0% | 0.14 | 0.22 | 0.72 | 4 mg/L | |
| Arsenic | 85 | 0% | * | 4 | 7 | 10 ug/L | |
| Uranium | 85 | 0% | * | 9 | 30 | 20 ug/L |
* suppressed by the publisher because too few wells were tested.
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What this means
Among homeowners in Sheldon who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were nitrate (3% of 152 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 Sheldon
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)7 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- Metals panel4 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- Gross alpha3% of 58 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- Nitrate3% of 152 local wells tested were above the Vermont limit.
- Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
Wells in Sheldon
274 domestic wells in Sheldon are on record with the state since 1996. 97% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 340 feet deep (one in ten goes past 548 feet).
In a typical Sheldon well, bedrock starts about 22 feet down, the median yield is 5 gallons per minute, 31% 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 Sheldon
Vermont ANR records 7 leaking underground storage tank sites and 4 hazardous waste sites in Sheldon, among 17 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.
- 7
- 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.
- 6
- registered underground storage tank sitesRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
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Common questions
How deep are wells in Sheldon?
The typical domestic well in Sheldon is 340 feet deep, based on 274 wells reported to the state since 1996. One in ten is deeper than 548 feet. 97% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Sheldon?
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 Sheldon, up to 152 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: 311 well records in Sheldon, 274 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: 17 regulated sites located in Sheldon. 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.