A New Hampshire Well Water Contaminants Overview

These three come from New Hampshire's granite and metamorphic bedrock and are the headline concerns for bedrock wells. Arsenic is odorless and tasteless and is tied to a higher long-term cancer risk, which is why the state set a 5 parts per billion standard. Uranium is a kidney concern, and radon is a radioactive gas that adds to indoor-air lung-cancer risk.

All three are invisible, all three are treatable, and all three should be on a New Hampshire well test.

Iron and manganese are not the same kind of health concern as arsenic, but they are very common in New Hampshire and cause the rust and black staining, metallic taste, and buildup that many well owners notice first. NHDES sets secondary standards of 0.3 milligrams per liter for iron and 0.05 for manganese, and oxidation-filtration is the usual treatment.

Hardness, the calcium and magnesium that leave scale, is a common nuisance rather than a health risk, and a water softener addresses it where needed.

Bacteria and nitrate point to a different kind of issue, usually surface water or other contamination reaching the well rather than something from the bedrock. NHDES recommends testing for both every year, more often than the bedrock contaminants, because they can change with seasons and weather.

A standard NHDES analysis every three to five years, with bacteria and nitrate yearly and a radiological test for radon and uranium, covers the contaminants above. Once you have results, a licensed local contractor can explain what they mean and, where treatment makes sense, recommend and quote a system sized to your water.

A standard NHDES analysis bundles the common contaminants into one test: arsenic, bacteria, nitrate and nitrite, chloride, copper, fluoride, hardness, iron, lead, manganese, pH, and sodium. A separate radiological test adds radon, uranium, and gross alpha. Together these cover the contaminants that matter most on a New Hampshire bedrock well.

Ordering them together is efficient and gives a contractor the full picture needed to recommend treatment, rather than a single number read in isolation. It also establishes a baseline you can compare against at the next test.

The baseline is a standard analysis every three to five years, with bacteria and nitrate every year because they can change more quickly. Beyond the schedule, it is worth testing after any change in taste, color, or odor, after work is done on the well, and when buying or selling a home.

Because private wells are not monitored by anyone else, this schedule is the homeowner's safety net. Once results are in hand, a licensed local contractor can explain what they mean and turn them into a treatment plan where one is warranted.

Some of these contaminants call for whole-house treatment by their nature. Radon in water has to be treated at the point of entry, since it escapes into the air throughout the house, and iron and manganese staining affects every fixture and load of laundry.

Arsenic and uranium, by contrast, are often handled at a single drinking-water tap unless levels are high or other contaminants are present. A licensed local contractor reads the full test and recommends point-of-use treatment, a whole-house system, or a combination, sized to your water and your home.