Well water testing in Black Hawk County, Iowa

What to test for in Black Hawk County

Private wells are not regulated like public water: EPA advises owners to test their well every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH. Your state's own schedule:

• Iowa DNR says every private well used for drinking should be tested at least once a year. Also test when the well is new, after any work on the well, pump or water system, and when the water looks, smells or tastes different. source
• For the tests covered by the Private Well Grants program, Iowa DNR lists bacteria (coliform and E. coli) and nitrate every year, and arsenic and manganese every three years. source

Arsenic. USGS estimates that about 280 people using private wells in Black Hawk County had arsenic above 10 µg/L, EPA's limit for public water (2010 base year; 95% range 231 to 341). USGS describes this kind of estimate as useful "for broad screening of the population at risk", so it says nothing certain about any one well. Arsenic has no taste or smell: test for it by name.

Radon. EPA puts Black Hawk County in Zone 1: highest potential (average indoor radon may be greater than 4 pCi/L). That map is about radon in indoor air, and EPA says it should not be used to decide whether an individual home needs testing. If radon is found in your air and you have a well, EPA suggests testing the water too: see radon in well water.

For anything specific to your home (farms nearby, old plumbing, a new baby, a smell or stain), use the which-tests checklist. When the results arrive, check your numbers against EPA's limits.

PFAS in public water near Black Hawk County (public supply, not your well)

Under EPA’s fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5), public water systems sampled their water for 29 PFAS between Jan 3, 2023 and Jun 17, 2026. 4 public systems that serve ZIP codes mainly in Black Hawk County reported results. 0 of them had at least one sample with PFOA or PFOS at or above 4.0 ng/L, and 1 had at least one of the 29 PFAS measured at or above its reporting level.

4.0 ng/L (parts per trillion) is both EPA’s UCMR 5 reporting level for PFOA and PFOS and the number in EPA’s 2024 limit for public water. That limit is judged on a running annual average, so one sample at that level is not a violation. EPA proposed changes to its PFAS rules in May 2026: see PFAS in well water for the current status and who should test a well. To test your own well, find a lab certified for PFAS.

Method: a system counts for this county when it reports serving a ZIP code whose largest land part is in this county, so a system serving several counties counts in each. Source: U.S. EPA, UCMR 5 occurrence data (by state), file dated Oct 15, 2026; downloaded Nov 1, 2026.

Testing programs and help in Iowa

• Iowa's Private Well Grants program provides free water testing to private well owners through county environmental health offices. Iowa DNR says nearly all counties take part; ask your county office whether yours does and to arrange sampling. source
• The standard free tests are nitrate, bacteria, manganese and arsenic. A county health specialist must collect the sample. Requests to cover other tests are reviewed case by case. source
• The same program reimburses qualifying well services done by a DNR-certified contractor, at actual cost up to $400 for shock chlorination, $600 for a well assessment, $700 for well plugging, $400 for cistern plugging and $2,000 for well reconstruction or rehabilitation. Contact your county health department before the work starts. source

Buying a home with a well in Black Hawk County

State-certified labs in Black Hawk County

Labs on the Iowa list whose own websites say they take homeowner samples: AgSource (Ellsworth), ChemRight Laboratories (Maquoketa), Dubuque - City Environmental Monitoring Lab (Dubuque), Dubuque County Health Department (Dubuque). Use Check my ZIP to sort labs by distance.

See all Iowa labs in the finder and filter by the test you need and by labs that take homeowner samples.