Data & Methodology — Palm Beach County

Full contaminant data, sample history, and sourcing for Palm Beach County. For readers who want to go beyond the summary.

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

9007 well testing events on record, covering 23 analytes. Data spans 1913 to 2019.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. FL Avg
Radon 36 1998–2019 100%
127% of limit ↑ 332% above
Iron 674 1923–2024 95%
173% of limit ~ typical
PFOS municipal 52 2023–2025 46%
484% of limit ↑ 129% above
PFOA municipal 52 2023–2025 37%
217% of limit ↑ 52% above
Chloride 8806 1923–2025 100%
22% of limit ↓ 55% below
Manganese 445 1952–2024 91%
20% of limit ↓ 24% below
Sulfate 1606 1923–2025 94%
7% of limit ↓ 73% below
Arsenic 551 1970–2024 68%
10% of limit ↓ 23% below
Lead 534 1970–2024 48%
1% of limit ↓ 58% below
PFHxS municipal 52 2023–2025 37%
62% of limit ↑ 21% above
Nitrate 979 1923–2019 72%
0% of limit ↓ 100% below
Fluoride 1462 1930–2025 89%
7% of limit ~ typical
Nitrite 822 1969–2019 54%
1% of limit ~ typical
Uranium 68 1998–2019 74%
1% of limit ~ typical
PFNA municipal 52 2023–2025 4%
65% of limit ~ typical
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 52 2023–2025 0%
— —
pH 1710 1940–2025 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 1458 1923–2025 100%
— ↓ 46% below
PFBS municipal 52 2023–2025 50%
— ~ typical
Fecal Coliform 71 1974–2021 73%
— ~ typical
E. coli 58 2008–2025 66%
— ~ typical
Total Coliform 129 1973–2025 77%
— ~ typical
Hardness 1477 1923–2019 100%
— ↑ 25% above

Distribution shows the share of samples in each concentration band relative to the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): Low = below half the MCL, Moderate = between half and the MCL, High = above the MCL. Analytes without an MCL (e.g. sodium, pH) show — in the limit columns. State average is based on county median values across FL.

Compare your result with Palm Beach County

Of the 551 arsenic tests on record for Palm Beach County (1970–2024), 32% found none, and half were below 0.24 µg/L.

Of the 8806 chloride tests on record for Palm Beach County (1923–2025), 0% found none, and half were below 55 mg/L.

Of the 1462 fluoride tests on record for Palm Beach County (1930–2025), 11% found none, and half were below 200 µg/L.

Of the 674 iron tests on record for Palm Beach County (1923–2024), 5% found none, and half were below 451 µg/L.

Of the 534 lead tests on record for Palm Beach County (1970–2024), 51% found none.

Of the 445 manganese tests on record for Palm Beach County (1952–2024), 9% found none, and half were below 10 µg/L.

Of the 979 nitrate tests on record for Palm Beach County (1923–2019), 28% found none.

Of the 1606 sulfate tests on record for Palm Beach County (1923–2025), 6% found none, and half were below 16 mg/L.

Of the 68 uranium tests on record for Palm Beach County (1998–2019), 26% found none, and half were below 97 ng/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Radon 36 samples
  • Iron 674 samples
  • Chloride 8806 samples
  • Manganese 445 samples
  • Sulfate 1606 samples
  • Arsenic 551 samples
  • Lead 534 samples
  • Nitrate 979 samples
  • Fluoride 1462 samples
  • Nitrite 822 samples
  • Uranium 68 samples
  • pH 1710 samples
  • Sodium 1458 samples
  • Fecal Coliform 71 samples
  • E. coli 58 samples
  • Total Coliform 129 samples
  • Hardness 1477 samples

No private-well PFAS data for Palm Beach County

We have no private well sampling data for PFAS compounds (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and related chemicals) in Palm Beach County. PFAS has been detected in local public water systems (UCMR 5 data) — indicated by the "municipal" badge in the table above — but this does not directly indicate private well contamination. PFAS testing for private wells requires a dedicated lab panel (~$300–$500). If you are near a military base, airport, or industrial site, consider testing proactively. Learn more about PFAS →

Public vs. Private Water in Palm Beach County

71 Active public water systems
1,590,728 Residents on public water
8% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Palm Beach County are regulated by the EPA and must test and report contaminant levels. Private well owners are responsible for their own testing — there is no routine monitoring of private wells by any government agency.

CDC Health Outcome Correlations

Where contaminants detected in Palm Beach County have established associations with specific health outcomes, we cross-reference CDC PLACES county-level prevalence data. This is a contextual signal, not a causal claim.

Contaminant Associated Condition Palm Beach County Prevalence FL Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 5.6% 6.8% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 2.8% 3.4% 2020
Lead Heart disease rate 8.3% 7.7% 2020

Source: CDC PLACES county-level estimates. Raw data: Download Palm Beach County CDC PLACES data →

Data Sources

This report aggregates data from the following public databases:

Methodology

Raw records are downloaded from the Water Quality Portal and normalized to µg/L (ppb). Records are deduplicated by sample ID and date, and certified outliers are excluded. Analyte names are mapped to EPA canonical forms. Detection rates, distribution bands, and MCL comparisons are computed from the normalized dataset.

Distribution bands use the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level as the threshold: concentrations below 50% of the MCL are classed as Low, between 50% and 100% as Moderate, and above 100% as High. For analytes without an MCL (sodium, hardness, pH), distribution is not computed.

State comparison uses the median of county median values across all counties in FL with at least one sample for that analyte.

Last updated: 2026-08-12

Full methodology →