Well water problems
Most well water problems fall into two groups. Nuisance problems such as iron, manganese, hardness, sulfur smell and tannins stain, clog and smell bad but rarely make you sick. Health problems such as bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, uranium, lead and PFAS usually have no taste, color or smell, so only a lab test finds them.
Each guide below gives the level where treatment starts to make sense, what to ask the lab for, and the fix that fits each range. If you already have a lab report, the test results tool turns your numbers into a treatment order.
- Iron in well waterOrange stains mean iron. What level needs treatment, how to test, and which filter fits your numbers, from doing nothing to chemical injection.
- Manganese in well waterBlack stains point to manganese. The cosmetic limit, the health levels for babies and adults, how to test, and which filter fits your result.
- Hydrogen sulfide in well waterA rotten-egg smell is hydrogen sulfide. Find the source first, then match the fix to your level, from a new water heater anode to chlorine injection.
- Hard well waterHard well water leaves scale and soap scum but is not a health risk. Hardness levels in gpg, when a softener pays off, and what to fix first.
- Acidic well waterLow pH well water eats copper pipes and can pull lead into your water. What pH needs treatment, how to test, and when calcite or soda ash fits.
- Bacteria in well waterA positive coliform test is common and often fixable. What total coliform and E. coli results mean, when to shock chlorinate, and when UV is worth it.
- Nitrate in well waterNitrate above 10 mg/L is unsafe for babies under six months. What your result means, why boiling makes it worse, and how reverse osmosis fits.
- Arsenic in well waterArsenic has no taste or smell, so test once. What 10 µg/L means, why arsenic III needs oxidizing first, and when an under-sink RO system is enough.
- Tannins in well waterYellow or tea-colored water that will not settle is usually tannins. How to tell tannins from iron, what to test, and which treatment works.
- Sediment in well waterSand, grit or cloudy water from a well can mean a filter problem or a well problem. How to tell which, what to test, and how to size a sediment filter.
- Uranium and radon in well waterUranium is a drinking-water risk; radon in water is mostly an air risk. The levels that matter, how to test each, and why the fixes are different.
- PFAS in well waterPFAS forever chemicals turn up in private wells as often as in public water. When to test, what the EPA limits mean in 2026, and which filters work.
- Lead in well waterLead in well water usually comes from plumbing, old pumps or well parts, not the aquifer. How to test first-draw and flushed samples, and what to do next.