Data & Methodology — Belmont County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

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

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. OH Avg
Manganese 78 1973–2014 86%
520% of limit ↑ 194% above
PFOA municipal 17 2023–2025 65%
138% of limit ~ typical
Iron 77 1978–2014 84%
42% of limit ↓ 90% below
PFHxS municipal 17 2023–2025 12%
94% of limit ↑ 76% above
Sulfate 30 1978–2014 100%
29% of limit ↓ 34% below
Lead 66 1986–2014 65%
0% of limit ↓ 100% below
Arsenic 65 1986–2014 63%
0% of limit ↓ 100% below
Chloride 77 1973–2014 100%
13% of limit ~ typical
Fluoride 64 1973–2014 89%
6% of limit ↓ 37% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 17 2023–2025 0%
— —
Nitrate 2 1997–2006 100%
5% of limit ~ typical
Nitrite 2 1997–2006 100%
1% of limit ~ typical
PFNA municipal 17 2023–2025 6%
40% of limit ~ typical
PFOS municipal 17 2023–2025 0%
— —
Radon 1 2006 100%
7% of limit ↓ 68% below
Uranium 1 2006 100%
1% of limit ↓ 56% below
Sodium 78 1973–2014 100%
— ↓ 21% below
pH 40 1973–2006 100%
— ~ typical
PFBS municipal 17 2023–2025 24%
— ↑ 62% above
Hardness 64 1973–2014 100%
— ↓ 45% 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 OH.

Compare your result with Belmont County

Of the 65 arsenic tests on record for Belmont County (1986–2014), 37% found none.

Of the 77 chloride tests on record for Belmont County (1973–2014), 0% found none, and half were below 33 mg/L.

Of the 64 fluoride tests on record for Belmont County (1973–2014), 11% found none, and half were below 250 µg/L.

Of the 77 iron tests on record for Belmont County (1978–2014), 16% found none, and half were below 102 µg/L.

Of the 66 lead tests on record for Belmont County (1986–2014), 35% found none.

Of the 78 manganese tests on record for Belmont County (1973–2014), 14% found none, and half were below 239 µg/L.

Of the 30 sulfate tests on record for Belmont County (1978–2014), 0% found none, and half were below 72.6 mg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Manganese 78 samples
  • Iron 77 samples
  • Sulfate 30 samples
  • Lead 66 samples
  • Arsenic 65 samples
  • Chloride 77 samples
  • Fluoride 64 samples
  • Sodium 78 samples
  • pH 40 samples
  • Hardness 64 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Nitrate 2 samples
  • Nitrite 2 samples
  • Radon 1 sample
  • Uranium 1 sample

No private-well PFAS data for Belmont County

We have no private well sampling data for PFAS compounds (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and related chemicals) in Belmont 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 Belmont County

21 Active public water systems
62,289 Residents on public water
10% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Belmont 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 Belmont 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 Belmont County Prevalence OH Average Source Year
PFOA Cancer prevalence 6.2% 6.8% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 2.8% 3.1% 2020
Lead Heart disease rate 8.9% 7.6% 2020

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

Last updated: 2026-08-04

Full methodology →