Full contaminant data, sample history, and sourcing for Beaver County. For readers who want to go beyond the summary.
Contaminant Data — All Analytes
164 well testing events on record, covering
22 analytes.
Data spans 1926 to 2024.
Contaminant
Samples
Years
Detection Rate
Distribution LowModHigh
vs. Limit
vs. PA Avg
Radon
1
2019
100%
130% of limit
~ typical
Iron
49
1928–2019
92%
367% of limit
↓ 37% below
Manganese
32
1951–2019
84%
100% of limit
↓ 80% below
Arsenic
10
1978–2019
90%
10% of limit
↓ 66% below
Chloride
61
1928–2019
100%
19% of limit
↑ 76% above
Sulfate
60
1928–2019
100%
29% of limit
↑ 68% above
PFOA
municipal
175
2023–2025
27%
84% of limit
~ typical
PFOS
municipal
175
2023–2025
30%
80% of limit
↓ 37% below
PFHxS
municipal
44
2023–2025
14%
115% of limit
↑ 150% above
Fluoride
43
1951–2019
95%
2% of limit
↓ 44% below
HFPO-DA (GenX)
municipal
141
2023–2025
1%
20% of limit
~ typical
Lead
10
1978–2019
10%
1% of limit
↓ 81% below
Nitrate
43
1928–2019
100%
3% of limit
↓ 81% below
Nitrite
22
1978–2019
55%
3% of limit
↑ 100% above
PFNA
municipal
44
2023–2025
0%
—
—
Uranium
1
2019
100%
0% of limit
↓ 87% below
Total Coliform
1
2019
0%
—
—
Sodium
38
1928–2019
100%
—
↑ 473% above
pH
54
1943–2019
100%
—
~ typical
PFBS
municipal
141
2023–2025
42%
—
↑ 98% above
Hardness
60
1928–2019
100%
—
~ typical
E. coli
1
2019
0%
—
—
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 PA.
Compare your result with Beaver County
Of the 61 chloride tests on record for Beaver County (1928–2019),
0% found none, and half were below 47 mg/L.
Of the 43 fluoride tests on record for Beaver County (1951–2019),
5% found none, and half were below 100 µg/L.
Of the 49 iron tests on record for Beaver County (1928–2019),
8% found none, and half were below 900 µg/L.
Of the 32 manganese tests on record for Beaver County (1951–2019),
16% found none, and half were below 30 µg/L.
Of the 43 nitrate tests on record for Beaver County (1928–2019),
0% found none, and half were below 340 µg/L.
Of the 131 pfoa tests on record for Beaver County (2025),
66% found none.
Of the 131 pfos tests on record for Beaver County (2025),
62% found none.
Of the 60 sulfate tests on record for Beaver County (1928–2019),
0% found none, and half were below 72 mg/L.
Data Coverage & Gaps
Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)
Iron 49 samples
Manganese 32 samples
Chloride 61 samples
Sulfate 60 samples
PFOA 175 samples
PFOS 175 samples
Fluoride 43 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX) 141 samples
Nitrate 43 samples
Nitrite 22 samples
Sodium 38 samples
pH 54 samples
PFBS 141 samples
Hardness 60 samples
Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution
Radon 1 sample
Arsenic 10 samples
Lead 10 samples
Uranium 1 sample
Total Coliform 1 sample
E. coli 1 sample
Public vs. Private Water in Beaver County
96Active public water systems
179,666Residents on public water
19%Households on private wells
Public water systems in Beaver 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 Beaver 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.
This report aggregates data from the following public databases:
Water Quality Portal (WQP) — groundwater sample results for Beaver County from EPA, USGS, and state agencies. Browse WQP data →
EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) — public water system inventory used to estimate the share of residents on private wells. Browse SDWIS →
Census ACS 5-Year Estimates — well and cistern household counts (variable DP04_0074E) used to calculate the private-well percentage for Beaver County. Census data explorer →
USGS Aquifer Atlas — principal aquifer type underlying Beaver County, which informs which contaminants are geologically likely. USGS Aquifer Atlas →
EPA UCMR 5 (2023–2025) — PFAS occurrence data from public water systems, used as a proxy indicator for aquifer PFAS exposure. Rows marked "municipal" in the table above come from this source. About UCMR 5 →
EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) — industrial facility chemical releases near Beaver County, used in contamination risk scoring. TRI Explorer →
EPA Superfund NPL — National Priorities List sites in or near Beaver County, used in contamination risk scoring. Superfund site search →
CDC PLACES — county-level health outcome prevalence (kidney disease, cancer, heart disease) correlated with detected contaminants. About CDC PLACES →
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 PA with at least one sample for that analyte.