Well water in Waukesha County, Wisconsin

In Waukesha County, 4% of 472 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.

The strongest signal is total coliform: 13% of 16 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin limit (any detection), too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.

4,211 private wells tested 2006 to 2023 in state summaries; 2,720 test results across 14 contaminants from at least 398 wells, 1945 to 2021; chloride has the most at 885. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.

Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built

An estimated 131,894 people in Waukesha County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 33% of residents.

Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that 3% of the 131,894 people on private wells in Waukesha County draw water above 10 ug/L (the model's range is 3% to 4%), 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, 2006 to 2023. 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.

Contaminant	Above state level	Wells tested	Highest	State level
Sodium	27%	11	144	20 mg/L
Iron	18%	11	772	300 ug/L
Total coliform	13%	16
Arsenic	4%	518	170	10 ug/L
Nitrate	2%	4,211	69.5	10 mg/L
Chloride	0%	16	176	250 mg/L
Copper	0%	14	0.653	1.3 mg/L
Lead	0%	14	7	15 ug/L
Manganese	0%	14	95	300 ug/L
E. coli	0%	2

What individual samples found

Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Waukesha 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
Nitrate 1957 to 2021	4%	472	82%	0.11	60	10 mg/L EPA limit
Radium (226 + 228) 1983 to 2014	3%	35	46%	0	6.7	5 pCi/L EPA limit
Fluoride 1945 to 2021	0%	272	97%	0.3	1.2	4 mg/L EPA limit
Arsenic 1976 to 2021	0%	63	70%	0.3	8.3	10 ug/L EPA limit
Copper 1976 to 2021	0%	58	69%	0.001	0.035	1.3 mg/L EPA limit
Lead 1980 to 2021	0%	56	45%	0	0.421	15 ug/L EPA limit
Uranium 1980 to 2021	0%	55	76%	0.5	4.69	30 ug/L EPA limit
Chloride 1945 to 2021	no limit	885	100%	32	597	250 mg/L nuisance level
Iron 1945 to 2021	no limit	298	91%	265	7,800	300 ug/L nuisance level
Manganese 1945 to 2021	no limit	280	97%	30	1,700	300 ug/L health guideline
Sodium 1957 to 2021	no limit	216	100%	11	240	20 mg/L health guideline
Radon 2000 to 2014	no limit	16	100%	335	590	2,000 pCi/L health guideline

Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: PFOA (7), PFOS (7).

Over time

Share of samples above the limit by period. A cell needs ten samples to show; a comparison needs twenty in each period. Later periods sample fewer wells, and often the ones already known to have a problem.

Contaminant	before 2000	2000s	2010s	2020s
Nitrate	2%388 samples	12%50 samples	15%20 samples	21%14 samples
Fluoride	0%230 samples	0%24 samples	0%11 samples	n/a
Arsenic	0%17 samples	0%28 samples	0%11 samples	n/a
Copper	0%16 samples	0%24 samples	0%11 samples	n/a
Lead	0%14 samples	0%24 samples	0%11 samples	n/a
Uranium	0%13 samples	0%24 samples	0%11 samples	n/a

Nitrate, fluoride have held within a few points between the two most recent periods with enough samples.

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 address

What this means

Among homeowners in Waukesha County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were total coliform (13% of 16 wells), arsenic (4% of 518 wells), and nitrate (2% of 4,211 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.

Sodium and iron exceed the state's advisory level in a sizable share of wells; these are mostly a taste, staining or diet issue rather than a toxicity one.

What to test for in Waukesha County

1
Total coliform
13% of 16 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin limit (any detection).
2
Arsenic
4% of 518 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin enforcement standard.
3
Nitrate
4% of 472 local samples were above the limit.
4
Radium (226 + 228)
3% of 35 local samples were above the limit.
5
Coliform bacteria
Recommended for every private well, every year.
6
Radon
Median local reading is 335 pCi/L.
7
Sodium
27% of 11 local wells tested were above the EPA advisory level.
8
Iron
18% of 11 local wells tested were above the Wisconsin nuisance level.
9
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
655 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.

Test your Waukesha County well for total coliform, 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 $209 Already 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 Waukesha County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.

The rock under Waukesha County

Silurian-Devonian aquifers

Carbonate-rock. Limestone and dolomite move water through cracks and solution channels, sometimes very fast. Bacteria and nitrate can travel from the surface to a well in days, so annual bacteria testing matters more here than most places; hardness is a given.

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 Waukesha County

Wisconsin DNR records 655 leaking underground storage tank sites in Waukesha County, among 1,990 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.

655: leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
113: lined landfills and transfer facilities
1,222: other remediation projects

Treatment that fits the local profile

Total coliform

Inspect and repair the well cap and casing, then shock chlorinate and retest; UV disinfection whole-house; Chlorination system

Sodium

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation

Iron

Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration

Nitrate

Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation

Radium (226 + 228)

Water softener (cation exchange); Point-of-use reverse osmosis

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 total coliform

Aquasana Rhino Well Water with UV

whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,871

Whole-house system built for wells: sediment pre-filter, KDF and carbon, and a UV lamp rated to kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses. It does not remove arsenic, nitrate, uranium or radon.

For sodium

Under-sink reverse osmosis system

under-sink or countertop, about $300

Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.

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.

For nitrate

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.

Free, no obligation

Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Waukesha County

No water treatment company serves Waukesha County through Well Water Nerd yet. We are signing licensed companies on county by county: they test at your tap for free, walk you through the numbers, and quote treatment only if something needs fixing. Leave your details and you are first in line. Nothing is shared until a company joins for Waukesha County, and you get an email naming it first.

Common questions

Is there arsenic in well water in Waukesha County?

Arsenic was detected in 70% of 63 public well samples in Waukesha County, and 0% 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 Waukesha County?

The median radon level across 16 public samples in Waukesha County was 335 pCi/L, with a high of 590 pCi/L. New Hampshire recommends treatment above 2,000 pCi/L.

How often should I test a private well in Waukesha 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 Waukesha County

13 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Waukesha County totals above rather than shown separately: Brookfield, Butler village, Dousman village, Eagle village, Hartland village, Lac La Belle village, Milwaukee, Mukwonago village, Nashotah village, North Prairie village, Oconomowoc, Oconomowoc Lake village, Pewaukee village.

Counties near Waukesha 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: 2,720 samples in Waukesha 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 Waukesha County, up to 4,211 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 131,894 people on private wells in Waukesha 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: 1,990 regulated sites located in Waukesha 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.