Data & Methodology — Fulton County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

48 well testing events on record, covering 20 analytes. Data spans 1933 to 2024.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. PA Avg
Iron 16 1970–2023 88%
128% of limit ↓ 52% below
Manganese 16 1970–2023 75%
357% of limit ↓ 41% below
Radon 5 1995–2023 100%
73% of limit ↓ 60% below
Arsenic 9 1980–2023 44%
26% of limit ↓ 27% below
PFOS 48 2025 15%
158% of limit ↑ 687% above
PFOA 48 2025 19%
92% of limit ↑ 640% above
Nitrate 23 1933–2023 91%
1% of limit ↓ 92% below
Chloride 20 1933–2023 100%
1% of limit ↓ 93% below
Fluoride 16 1970–2023 62%
2% of limit ↓ 39% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) 44 2025 0%
— —
Lead 3 2013–2023 67%
2% of limit ↓ 97% below
Nitrite 14 1973–2023 14%
1% of limit ↓ 37% below
Sulfate 22 1933–2023 91%
2% of limit ↓ 95% below
Uranium 5 1995–2023 80%
2% of limit ↓ 26% below
Total Coliform 2 2005–2023 75%
— —
Sodium 14 1970–2023 100%
— ↓ 89% below
pH 17 1970–2023 100%
— ~ typical
PFBS 44 2025 5%
— ↑ 510% above
Hardness 22 1933–2023 100%
— ↓ 34% below
E. coli 2 2005–2023 50%
— —

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.

Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Iron 16 samples
  • Manganese 16 samples
  • PFOS 48 samples
  • PFOA 48 samples
  • Nitrate 23 samples
  • Chloride 20 samples
  • Fluoride 16 samples
  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 44 samples
  • Sulfate 22 samples
  • pH 17 samples
  • PFBS 44 samples
  • Hardness 22 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Radon 5 samples
  • Arsenic 9 samples
  • Lead 3 samples
  • Nitrite 14 samples
  • Uranium 5 samples
  • Total Coliform 2 samples
  • Sodium 14 samples
  • E. coli 2 samples

Public vs. Private Water in Fulton County

34 Active public water systems
8,255 Residents on public water
43% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Fulton 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 Fulton 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 Fulton County Prevalence PA Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer incidence rate 397.3% 448.6% 2022
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 8.2% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 2.7% 3.0% 2020

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

Last updated: 2026-07-15

Full methodology →