Well water in Menominee County, Wisconsin
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Testing recommended
tested well samples in Menominee County exceeded the EPA limit for lead (15 ug/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
194 private wells tested 2005 to 2025 in state summaries; 732 test results across 12 contaminants from at least 100 wells, 1982 to 2003; nitrate has the most at 138. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 717 people in Menominee County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 16% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 1% of the 717 people on private wells in Menominee County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 1% to 2%), from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What homeowner tests found
Wisconsin Well Water Quality Viewer samples: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2005 to 2025. 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 Menominee County. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead 1982 to 1985 | 46 | 76% | 0 | 26 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrate 1982 to 2003 | 138 | 43% | 0 | 53.1 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1982 to 1985 | 35 | 71% | 1 | 20 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1983 to 2003 | 105 | 63% | 0.1 | 2.4 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1982 to 1985 | 46 | 76% | 0.004 | 0.23 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1982 to 2003 | no limit | 116 | 90% | 1.3 | 370 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Iron 1982 to 1989 | no limit | 89 | 99% | 140 | 6,000 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1982 to 1985 | no limit | 69 | 91% | 20 | 580 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Sodium 1982 to 1989 | no limit | 67 | 100% | 2.5 | 160 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Radon 1991 to 2003 | no limit | 18 | 100% | 1,350 | 26,000 | 2,000 pCi/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Radium (226 + 228) (2), Uranium (1).
Closer than the county
See the sampled wells near your address
The same records, drawn around one point: which wells within a few miles were sampled and what they found, how deep the wells next to you were drilled, and any leaking tank or cleanup site within a mile.
Check my addressWhat this means
Among homeowners in Menominee County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (10% of 39 wells) and nitrate (<1% of 194 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 Menominee County
- 1Lead11% of 46 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Arsenic10% of 39 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin enforcement standard.
- 3Nitrate3% of 138 local samples were above the limit.
- 4Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 5RadonMedian local reading is 1,350 pCi/L.
- 6IronDetected in 99% of local samples.
- 7ManganeseDetected in 91% of local samples.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)6 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
Test your Menominee County well for lead, arsenic and nitrate
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 Wisconsin: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Menominee County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under Menominee County
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 county centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.
Official help in Wisconsin
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.
- Wells, Wisconsin DNR
- Laboratory Certification, Wisconsin DNR
Contamination sources on record in Menominee County
Wisconsin DNR records 6 leaking underground storage tank sites in Menominee County, among 23 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.
- 6
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 10
- lined landfills and transfer facilities
- 7
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
Arsenic
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange
Lead
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Certified lead-removal carbon filter; Neutralizing filter to raise pH and stop leaching
Nitrate
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation
Iron
Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration
Manganese
Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
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 arsenic
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For arsenic
Whole-house arsenic and uranium filter
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,500
Adsorptive iron-based media; sized to your well yield.
For arsenic
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 lead
Aquasana Claryum 3-Stage under-sink filter
under-sink or countertop, about $175
Certified to NSF/ANSI 53 to reduce 99% of lead and 99.7% of PFOA and PFOS at the tap. Not a fix for arsenic, nitrate or bacteria.
For lead
Acid neutralizing filter
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,200
Raises pH so plumbing stops leaching lead and copper.
For iron
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.
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Common questions
Is there arsenic in well water in Menominee County?
Arsenic was detected in 71% of 35 public well samples in Menominee County, and 3% 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 Menominee County?
The median radon level across 18 public samples in Menominee County was 1,350 pCi/L, with a high of 26,000 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.
How often should I test a private well in Menominee County?
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.
Towns in Menominee County
Counties near Menominee County
Closest first. Groundwater does not stop at a line on a map, so the next county over is a fair second opinion.
Want the numbers themselves? Download the Wisconsin dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 732 samples in Menominee County. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Wisconsin Well Water Quality Viewer samples: summaries for 10 contaminants in Menominee County, up to 194 wells each. Private well samples compiled by the UWSP Center for Watershed Science and Education from the DNR Groundwater Retrieval Network, DATCP surveys, the UWSP Water and Environmental Analysis Lab and county health programs, published in the Wisconsin Well Water Quality Viewer with Wisconsin DHS. Samples are located to the town, village or city they fall in; one result per well and parameter (the latest) so repeat samples do not double count; wells without a state well number are keyed by location. Shares are against Wisconsin NR 140 enforcement standards (arsenic 10 ug/L, nitrate 10 mg/L as N, manganese 300 ug/L, lead 15 ug/L, copper 1.3 mg/L) and the iron and chloride secondary levels. Many samples were submitted by homeowners with a reason to test, so shares can run above a random survey. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
- USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 717 people on private wells in Menominee County 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.
- Wisconsin DNR regulated sites: 23 regulated sites located in Menominee County. Open and closed remediation activities (BRRTS, including leaking underground storage tanks and spills) and landfill and waste sites from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved September 9, 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.