Data & Methodology — Pine County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

271 well testing events on record, covering 20 analytes. Data spans 1961 to 2024.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. MN Avg
Radon 3 1981–2014 100%
203% of limit ↑ 154% above
Manganese 246 1961–2025 87%
174% of limit ↓ 54% below
Iron 241 1961–2025 85%
238% of limit ↓ 57% below
PFOA 38 2022–2025 74%
69% of limit ↑ 1733% above
PFOS 24 2024–2025 46%
175% of limit —
Arsenic 144 1995–2025 49%
16% of limit ↓ 80% below
Lead 146 1972–2025 41%
2% of limit ↓ 97% below
Chloride 239 1961–2025 97%
1% of limit ↓ 92% below
Nitrate 153 1961–2014 59%
2% of limit ↓ 92% below
Fluoride 199 1961–2025 78%
4% of limit ↓ 52% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) 18 2022–2025 0%
— —
Nitrite 95 2001–2014 4%
1% of limit ↓ 68% below
PFHxS 9 — 100%
16% of limit —
PFNA 18 2022–2025 22%
6% of limit —
Sulfate 238 1961–2025 93%
2% of limit ↓ 93% below
Uranium 52 1980–2014 83%
0% of limit ↓ 95% below
Hardness 55 1961–2014 100%
— ↓ 65% below
PFBS 10 — 100%
— —
pH 57 1961–2014 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 250 1961–2025 99%
— ↓ 89% below

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 246 samples
  • Iron 241 samples
  • PFOA 38 samples
  • PFOS 24 samples
  • Arsenic 144 samples
  • Lead 146 samples
  • Chloride 239 samples
  • Nitrate 153 samples
  • Fluoride 199 samples
  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 18 samples
  • Nitrite 95 samples
  • PFNA 18 samples
  • Sulfate 238 samples
  • Uranium 52 samples
  • Hardness 55 samples
  • pH 57 samples
  • Sodium 250 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Radon 3 samples
  • PFHxS 9 samples
  • PFBS 10 samples

Public vs. Private Water in Pine County

112 Active public water systems
24,985 Residents on public water

Public water systems in Pine 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 Pine 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 Pine County Prevalence MN Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 8.1% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 3.4% 2.9% 2020
Lead Heart disease rate 8.4% 6.6% 2020

Source: CDC PLACES county-level estimates. Raw data: Download Pine 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 →