Tap & Air

Private wells

West Virginia well water: who's on a well and what to test for

An estimated 426,600 people in 206,600 homes, about 24.1% of West Virginia homes, above the national 14.6%. Estimates are from EPA's Water Source 2020 model.

People on private wells

426,600

Homes on wells

24.1%

Est. above arsenic limit

11,600

Barbour County: about 16% of homes on private wellsBerkeley County: about 20% of homes on private wellsBoone County: about 74% of homes on private wellsBraxton County: about 46% of homes on private wellsBrooke County: about 5% of homes on private wellsCabell County: about 12% of homes on private wellsCalhoun County: about 58% of homes on private wellsClay County: about 59% of homes on private wellsDoddridge County: about 79% of homes on private wellsFayette County: about 26% of homes on private wellsGilmer County: about 53% of homes on private wellsGrant County: about 54% of homes on private wellsGreenbrier County: about 43% of homes on private wellsHampshire County: about 72% of homes on private wellsHancock County: about 8% of homes on private wellsHardy County: about 72% of homes on private wellsHarrison County: about 11% of homes on private wellsJackson County: about 30% of homes on private wellsJefferson County: about 41% of homes on private wellsKanawha County: about 13% of homes on private wellsLewis County: about 49% of homes on private wellsLincoln County: about 54% of homes on private wellsLogan County: about 35% of homes on private wellsMcDowell County: about 46% of homes on private wellsMarion County: about 6% of homes on private wellsMarshall County: about 7% of homes on private wellsMason County: about 41% of homes on private wellsMercer County: about 19% of homes on private wellsMineral County: about 26% of homes on private wellsMingo County: about 30% of homes on private wellsMonongalia County: about 4% of homes on private wellsMonroe County: about 55% of homes on private wellsMorgan County: about 80% of homes on private wellsNicholas County: about 19% of homes on private wellsOhio County: about 5% of homes on private wellsPendleton County: about 79% of homes on private wellsPleasants County: about 33% of homes on private wellsPocahontas County: about 58% of homes on private wellsPreston County: about 46% of homes on private wellsPutnam County: about 18% of homes on private wellsRaleigh County: about 13% of homes on private wellsRandolph County: about 29% of homes on private wellsRitchie County: about 52% of homes on private wellsRoane County: about 45% of homes on private wellsSummers County: about 58% of homes on private wellsTaylor County: about 6% of homes on private wellsTucker County: about 46% of homes on private wellsTyler County: about 44% of homes on private wellsUpshur County: about 11% of homes on private wellsWayne County: about 23% of homes on private wellsWebster County: about 53% of homes on private wellsWetzel County: about 27% of homes on private wellsWirt County: about 32% of homes on private wellsWood County: about 3% of homes on private wellsWyoming County: about 37% of homes on private wells
Homes on private wellsUnder 5%5-15%15-30%30-50%50% or more

Every West Virginia 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.

Kanawha County25,70013%2.8%0.175 ft
Berkeley County25,10020%2.4%1.9135 ft
Jefferson County23,80041%2.4%5.2158 ft
Boone County16,10074%1.8%0.085 ft
Hampshire County15,70072%2.3%0.190 ft
Preston County14,60046%2.0%0.1n/a
Greenbrier County14,10043%1.8%0.285 ft
Morgan County13,60080%3.6%0.0205 ft
Cabell County11,80012%2.5%0.168 ft
Logan County11,70035%2.5%0.061 ft
Raleigh County11,40013%2.4%0.173 ft
Lincoln County11,10054%2.6%0.080 ft
Mercer County11,10019%2.0%0.1n/a
Fayette County10,40026%2.6%0.0100 ft
Mason County10,30041%2.9%0.182 ft
Putnam County9,90018%2.9%0.173 ft
Hardy County9,60072%1.6%0.1n/a
Wayne County9,00023%2.3%0.075 ft
Lewis County8,60049%2.4%0.1n/a
Jackson County8,40030%3.0%0.0120 ft
McDowell County8,10046%2.4%0.072 ft
Wyoming County8,10037%2.1%0.075 ft
Harrison County7,50011%2.9%0.1n/a
Mingo County7,40030%2.5%0.064 ft
Mineral County7,20026%2.3%0.1n/a
Randolph County7,00029%2.3%0.1n/a
Monroe County6,60055%2.5%0.2n/a
Summers County6,50058%3.2%0.0n/a
Roane County6,10045%2.7%0.062 ft
Grant County6,00054%1.6%0.1n/a
Doddridge County5,60079%2.8%0.0n/a
Pocahontas County5,60058%2.1%0.1n/a
Braxton County5,40046%2.2%0.058 ft
Monongalia County4,9004%2.7%0.165 ft
Clay County4,90059%2.1%0.050 ft
Pendleton County4,70079%1.8%0.1n/a
Nicholas County4,60019%1.8%0.175 ft
Ritchie County4,30052%2.8%0.0n/a
Webster County4,10053%1.3%0.095 ft
Wetzel County3,80027%3.0%0.0n/a
Calhoun County3,60058%3.1%0.0n/a
Tyler County3,40044%3.2%0.1n/a
Marion County3,2006%3.0%0.1n/a
Wood County3,1003%2.6%0.1n/a
Gilmer County3,00053%2.7%0.0n/a
Upshur County2,40011%2.0%0.1n/a
Hancock County2,4008%3.9%0.2n/a
Tucker County2,40046%2.0%0.0119 ft
Pleasants County2,40033%3.0%0.1n/a
Barbour County2,20016%2.7%0.1n/a
Ohio County2,1005%2.3%0.6n/a
Marshall County2,0007%2.9%0.196 ft
Wirt County1,60032%3.3%0.0n/a
Brooke County1,2005%3.5%0.3n/a
Taylor County1,0006%3.3%0.1n/a

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

Highest modeled nitrate

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.

Mail-in certified lab well water test$$

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.

5-micron whole-house sediment filter$

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.

Air-injection iron and sulfur filter$$$

4. UV disinfection system

Coliform bacteria in a test

Inactivates bacteria and viruses; usually for private wells or after boil notices.

12 GPM whole-house UV purifier$$$

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.

Waterdrop G3P600 tankless RO$$$ iSpring RCC7AK reverse osmosis$$

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.

Waterdrop WHF21 2-stage whole-house filter$$
Get free well water treatment quotes

Questions

Which West Virginia counties rely most on wells?+

By share of homes: Morgan County (80%), Doddridge County (79%), Pendleton County (79%), Boone County (74%), Hampshire County (72%). By number of people: Kanawha County (25,700), Berkeley County (25,100), Jefferson County (23,800).

Is arsenic a problem in West Virginia wells?+

USGS estimates about 11,600 West Virginia well users have water above the 10 microgram per liter arsenic limit that applies to public systems, the largest numbers in Hampshire County, Morgan County, Berkeley 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 West Virginia?+

We could not confirm a statewide rule for West Virginia. Check with your county health department. Buyers can still make a lab test a condition of the offer.

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).