Data & Methodology — Alachua County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

633 well testing events on record, covering 23 analytes. Data spans 1956 to 2024.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. FL Avg
Radon 4 2002–2015 100%
8% of limit ↓ 74% below
Iron 265 1960–2025 98%
11% of limit ↓ 94% below
PFOA municipal 12 2023–2025 8%
120% of limit ~ typical
PFOS municipal 12 2023–2025 8%
108% of limit ↓ 49% below
Nitrate 24 1960–2015 75%
1% of limit ↓ 69% below
Arsenic 263 2002–2025 100%
5% of limit ↓ 62% below
Manganese 263 2002–2025 100%
7% of limit ↓ 74% below
Sulfate 485 1960–2025 100%
2% of limit ↓ 92% below
Chloride 485 1960–2025 100%
3% of limit ↓ 94% below
PFNA municipal 12 2023–2025 0%
— —
Fluoride 398 1960–2025 100%
3% of limit ↓ 61% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 12 2023–2025 0%
— —
Nitrite 23 1976–2015 22%
3% of limit ↑ 140% above
Lead 263 2002–2025 99%
1% of limit ↓ 78% below
PFHxS municipal 12 2023–2025 0%
— —
Uranium 6 2002–2015 100%
1% of limit ~ typical
Sodium 469 1960–2025 100%
— ↓ 94% below
Hardness 18 1960–2015 100%
— ~ typical
Total Coliform 176 2002–2025 100%
— ~ typical
E. coli 81 2002–2025 98%
— ~ typical
Fecal Coliform 95 1990–2021 94%
— ~ typical
PFBS municipal 12 2023–2025 25%
— ~ typical
pH 614 1960–2025 100%
— ~ typical

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 FL.

Compare your result with Alachua County

Of the 263 arsenic tests on record for Alachua County (2002–2025), 0% found none, and half were below 0.5 µg/L.

Of the 485 chloride tests on record for Alachua County (1960–2025), 0% found none, and half were below 7.1 mg/L.

Of the 398 fluoride tests on record for Alachua County (1960–2025), 0% found none, and half were below 108 µg/L.

Of the 265 iron tests on record for Alachua County (1960–2025), 2% found none, and half were below 33 µg/L.

Of the 263 lead tests on record for Alachua County (2002–2025), 1% found none, and half were below 0.102 µg/L.

Of the 263 manganese tests on record for Alachua County (2002–2025), 0% found none, and half were below 3.4 µg/L.

Of the 24 nitrate tests on record for Alachua County (1960–2015), 25% found none, and half were below 25.5 µg/L.

Of the 485 sulfate tests on record for Alachua County (1960–2025), 0% found none, and half were below 5.04 mg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Iron 265 samples
  • Nitrate 24 samples
  • Arsenic 263 samples
  • Manganese 263 samples
  • Sulfate 485 samples
  • Chloride 485 samples
  • Fluoride 398 samples
  • Nitrite 23 samples
  • Lead 263 samples
  • Sodium 469 samples
  • Hardness 18 samples
  • Total Coliform 176 samples
  • E. coli 81 samples
  • Fecal Coliform 95 samples
  • pH 614 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Radon 4 samples
  • Uranium 6 samples

No private-well PFAS data for Alachua County

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

65 Active public water systems
226,317 Residents on public water
20% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Alachua 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 Alachua 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 Alachua County Prevalence FL Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 5.8% 6.8% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 3.0% 3.4% 2020

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

Last updated: 2026-08-12

Full methodology →