Data & Methodology — Escambia County Well Water

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

969 well testing events on record, covering 23 analytes. Data spans 1939 to 2025.

Contaminant	Samples	Years	Detection Rate	vs. Limit	vs. FL Avg
Iron	466	1953–2024	91%	67% of limit	↓ 67% below
PFOA municipal	109	2023–2025	31%	275% of limit	↑ 93% above
PFOS municipal	109	2023–2025	29%	294% of limit	↑ 39% above
Manganese	154	1954–2024	69%	29% of limit	~ typical
PFHxS municipal	109	2023–2025	29%	65% of limit	↑ 27% above
Nitrate	396	1939–2013	98%	1% of limit	↓ 57% below
PFNA municipal	109	2023–2025	2%	148% of limit	↑ 155% above
Chloride	677	1939–2025	100%	2% of limit	↓ 95% below
Arsenic	142	1971–2024	57%	1% of limit	↓ 93% below
Fluoride	342	1953–2025	77%	1% of limit	↓ 88% below
Lead	137	1967–2024	45%	1% of limit	↓ 58% below
Nitrite	351	1958–2013	63%	0% of limit	↓ 100% below
Uranium	4	2009–2013	25%	0% of limit	↓ 97% below
Sulfate	364	1939–2025	97%	1% of limit	↓ 98% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal	109	2023–2025	0%	—	—
Radon	4	2009–2013	100%	21% of limit	↓ 28% below
pH	836	1953–2025	100%	—	↓ 28% below
Sodium	304	1953–2025	100%	—	↓ 90% below
Total Coliform	98	1975–2025	82%	—	~ typical
E. coli	44	2009–2025	94%	—	~ typical
Fecal Coliform	54	1975–2021	62%	—	~ typical
PFBS municipal	109	2023–2025	17%	—	~ typical
Hardness	477	1939–2013	100%	—	↓ 97% below

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.

Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

Iron 466 samples
Manganese 154 samples
Nitrate 396 samples
Chloride 677 samples
Arsenic 142 samples
Fluoride 342 samples
Lead 137 samples
Nitrite 351 samples
Sulfate 364 samples
pH 836 samples
Sodium 304 samples
Total Coliform 98 samples
E. coli 44 samples
Fecal Coliform 54 samples
Hardness 477 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

Uranium 4 samples
Radon 4 samples

No private-well PFAS data for Escambia County

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

16 Active public water systems

349,110 Residents on public water

Public water systems in Escambia 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 Escambia 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	Escambia County Prevalence	FL Average	Source Year
Arsenic	Cancer prevalence	5.9%	6.8%	2020
Arsenic	Kidney disease rate	2.9%	3.4%	2020
Lead	Heart disease rate	7.1%	7.7%	2020

Data Sources

This report aggregates data from the following public databases:

Water Quality Portal (WQP) — groundwater sample results for Escambia 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 Escambia County. Census data explorer →
USGS Aquifer Atlas — principal aquifer type underlying Escambia 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 Escambia County, used in contamination risk scoring. TRI Explorer →
EPA Superfund NPL — National Priorities List sites in or near Escambia 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 FL with at least one sample for that analyte.

Last updated: 2026-08-12

Full methodology →