Private wells
Rhode Island well water: who's on a well and what to test for
People on private wells
378,000
Homes on wells
35.7%
Est. above arsenic limit
1,500
Every Rhode Island county
Sorted by people on private wells. Arsenic and nitrate are modeled for typical wells in the county, not measured at yours; depth is the median of domestic well records.
| Providence County | 260,200 | 41% | 6.1% | 0.4 | 300 ft |
| Newport County | 37,200 | 47% | 9.1% | 0.1 | 300 ft |
| Washington County | 34,400 | 27% | 5.6% | 0.7 | 220 ft |
| Bristol County | 31,800 | 70% | 8.2% | 0.2 | n/a |
| Kent County | 14,400 | 7% | 5.1% | 0.6 | 300 ft |
Shading: red is among the highest counties nationally, amber the middle, green the lower range. Click a column to sort.
Most well users above the arsenic limit
- Providence County: about 570 people
- Washington County: about 540 people
- Newport County: about 270 people
- Kent County: about 130 people
- Bristol County: about 0 people
Test first, then treat what the test finds
We may earn a commission from links below, at no cost to you. Picks follow the testing order, not who pays. How we make money.
1. Certified lab well test
Start here, every year
A mail-in kit analyzed by a certified lab measures bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, metals and more. Test strips cannot measure arsenic or uranium reliably.
2. Sediment pre-filter
Sand, silt or cloudy water
A 5-micron cartridge after the pressure tank catches sand, silt and rust before they reach fixtures or other filters. Cartridges are cheap and swap every few months.
3. Iron and sulfur filter
Orange stains or rotten-egg smell
Air-injection or oxidizing-media filters remove orange staining and rotten-egg smell. Size one from a lab result for iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide.
4. UV disinfection system
Coliform bacteria in a test
Inactivates bacteria and viruses; usually for private wells or after boil notices.
5. Under-sink reverse osmosis
Arsenic, nitrate or uranium in a test
The most thorough option for drinking water: PFAS, lead, nitrate, arsenic and more. Look for NSF/ANSI 58.
6. Whole-house well filter
Several problems at once
Multi-stage sediment and carbon for every tap. Add UV if bacteria shows up, and choose stages from your lab results, not a guess.
Questions
Which Rhode Island counties rely most on wells?+
By share of homes: Bristol County (70%), Newport County (47%), Providence County (41%), Washington County (27%), Kent County (7%). By number of people: Providence County (260,200), Newport County (37,200), Washington County (34,400).
Is arsenic a problem in Rhode Island wells?+
USGS estimates about 1,500 Rhode Island well users have water above the 10 microgram per liter arsenic limit that applies to public systems, the largest numbers in Providence County, Washington County, Newport County. Arsenic has no taste or smell, so only a lab test finds it.
Do I have to test my well when I sell a house in Rhode Island?+
Yes. Private wells must be tested before a home is sold, for bacteria, nitrate, lead, iron, manganese and other parameters (R.I. Gen. Laws 23-1-5.3).
How often should I test my well?+
No federal law covers private wells. EPA's drinking water limits apply to public water systems, so testing and treating a private well is up to the owner. EPA and CDC recommend testing at least once a year for coliform bacteria, nitrate, pH and total dissolved solids, and testing for arsenic, uranium, radon and other local concerns based on where you live.
Well-user counts, arsenic and nitrate figures are each a modeled estimate built from national datasets, not a count of tested wells, and well depths summarize drilling records rather than every well. Your own well can be very different from the county average, which is why the only answer for your home is a lab test. Sources: EPA Office of Research and Development, Water Source 2020 (private well estimates by census block); CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking, Well Water Index (from USGS nitrate and arsenic models); USGS, county-level domestic well population with arsenic above 10 micrograms per liter (Ayotte and others, 2017); USGS Synthesized Domestic Well Database for the Conterminous United States (SynDWell-US), McCarthy and others, 2025 (depth, where a county has 30+ usable records).