Data & Methodology — Becker County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

283 well testing events on record, covering 20 analytes. Data spans 1964 to 2024.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. MN Avg
Manganese 161 1964–2025 96%
284% of limit ↓ 25% below
Iron 179 1964–2025 97%
413% of limit ↓ 25% below
Arsenic 124 1972–2025 88%
50% of limit ↓ 38% below
PFOA municipal 29 2022–2025 86%
25% of limit ↑ 567% above
Nitrate 82 1964–2007 63%
5% of limit ↓ 75% below
Sulfate 198 1964–2025 83%
4% of limit ↓ 83% below
Lead 128 1972–2025 16%
2% of limit ↓ 97% below
Chloride 223 1964–2025 99%
1% of limit ↓ 91% below
Fluoride 175 1964–2025 91%
4% of limit ↓ 47% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 4 2022–2025 0%
— —
Nitrite 46 1972–1999 43%
0% of limit ↓ 93% below
PFHxS municipal 2 2023 0%
— —
PFNA municipal 5 2022–2025 20%
13% of limit —
PFOS municipal 8 2023–2025 62%
30% of limit —
Radon 5 1993 100%
8% of limit ↓ 90% below
Uranium 6 1993 33%
5% of limit ↑ 27% above
Sodium 185 1964–2025 99%
— ↓ 85% below
pH 99 1964–2014 100%
— ~ typical
PFBS municipal 2 2023 0%
— —
Hardness 57 1964–1993 100%
— ~ typical

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 MN.

Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Manganese 161 samples
  • Iron 179 samples
  • Arsenic 124 samples
  • PFOA 29 samples
  • Nitrate 82 samples
  • Sulfate 198 samples
  • Lead 128 samples
  • Chloride 223 samples
  • Fluoride 175 samples
  • Nitrite 46 samples
  • Sodium 185 samples
  • pH 99 samples
  • Hardness 57 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 4 samples
  • PFNA 5 samples
  • PFOS 8 samples
  • Radon 5 samples
  • Uranium 6 samples

Public vs. Private Water in Becker County

149 Active public water systems
26,981 Residents on public water

Public water systems in Becker 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 Becker 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 Becker County Prevalence MN Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 6.1% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 2.6% 2.9% 2020
Lead Heart disease rate 8.1% 6.6% 2020

Source: CDC PLACES county-level estimates. Raw data: Download Becker 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 MN with at least one sample for that analyte.

Last updated: 2026-07-15

Full methodology →