About Ohio Well Water
This site exists because finding clear, reliable information about well water quality in Ohio is harder than it should be.
1.8 million Ohioans rely on private wells for their drinking water. Unlike public water systems, private wells aren't monitored or regulated by any federal agency. That responsibility falls to Ohio's 88 individual county health districts — each with its own website, its own testing programs, and its own way of communicating with well owners.
The result is information fragmentation. If you're a well owner in Holmes County trying to understand your water, you're searching a different set of resources than someone in Delaware County or Portage County. The underlying geology, contaminants, and testing recommendations are different too — but the basic question is the same: is my water safe?
We built Ohio Well Water to put the most important information in one place: what contaminants are common in your area, where to get tested, what your results mean, and what your options are if something comes back high.
What This Site Is
- A starting point for understanding your well water
- Community-specific guides based on local geology and documented water quality data
- Links to county health districts, certified testing labs, and treatment resources
- Plain-language explanations of geology, contaminants, and treatment options
- A public information resource — not a sales funnel
What This Site Is Not
- A substitute for actual water testing (every well is different)
- Professional advice about your specific well or water system
- Affiliated with any government agency, water treatment company, or testing lab
Our Sources
The data on this site comes from government and academic sources, including:
- United States Geological Survey (USGS) — groundwater studies, water quality data
- Ohio EPA — groundwater monitoring, certified lab listings, contamination data
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources — well log database, groundwater resource maps
- Ohio Department of Health — private water systems regulations
- Ohio State University Extension — water quality research and fact sheets
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — contaminant standards, private well guidance
- County health districts — local testing data, well construction records
We cite specific sources on each page. If you find an error or have better data, we want to know.
Every well is different. Two wells on the same street can have completely different water quality. The only way to know what's in your water is to test it.
Contact
Have questions, corrections, or suggestions? Reach us at [email protected].