Well water in Oneida County, Wisconsin
In Oneida County, 8% of 102 private wells tested between 2003 and 2025 had lead above the Wisconsin enforcement standard (15 ug/L), according to the UWSP Well Water Quality Viewer.
3,649 private wells tested 2003 to 2025 in state summaries; 2 individual samples from 2 wells, 1973 to 2006. Data refreshed September 9, 2026.
What homeowner tests found
Wisconsin Well Water Quality Viewer samples: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2003 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.
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What this means
Among homeowners in Oneida County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were lead (8% of 102 wells), total coliform (4% of 196 wells), and copper (3% of 103 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.
Iron exceeds the state's advisory level in a sizable share of wells; this is mostly a taste, staining or diet issue rather than a toxicity one.
What to test for in Oneida County
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)89 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- Iron33% of 79 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin nuisance level.
- Manganese8% of 102 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin enforcement standard.
- Lead8% of 102 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin enforcement standard.
- Sodium4% of 81 local wells tested were above the EPA advisory level.
- Total coliform4% of 196 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin limit (any detection).
- Copper3% of 103 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin enforcement standard.
- Nitrate1% of 3,649 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin enforcement standard.
- Arsenic1% of 526 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin enforcement standard.
Contamination sources on record in Oneida County
Wisconsin DNR records 89 leaking underground storage tank sites in Oneida County, among 406 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.
- 89
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 61
- lined landfills and transfer facilities
- 256
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
- Lead
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Certified lead-removal carbon filter; Neutralizing filter to raise pH and stop leaching
- 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
- Chloride
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation
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Common questions
How often should I test a private well in Oneida 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 Oneida County
- Cassian0% nitrate
- Crescent4% arsenic
- Enterprise0% nitrate
- Hazelhurst1% nitrate
- Lake Tomahawk0% nitrate
- Little Rice0% nitrate
- Minocqua2% arsenic
- Monico3% nitrate
- Newbold<1% nitrate
- Nokomis4% nitrate
- Pelican4% arsenic
- Pine Lake2% nitrate
- Schoepke0% nitrate
- Stella14% nitrate
- Sugar Camp4% nitrate
- Three Lakes<1% nitrate
- Woodboro0% nitrate
- Woodruff1% nitrate
3 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Oneida County totals above rather than shown separately: Lynne, Piehl, Rhinelander.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 3 samples in Oneida 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 Oneida County, up to 3,649 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.
- Wisconsin DNR regulated sites: 406 regulated sites located in Oneida 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.