Data & Methodology — Lowndes County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

336 well testing events on record, covering 19 analytes. Data spans 1932 to 2026.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. GA Avg
PFOS municipal 20 2023–2025 25%
162% of limit ~ typical
Arsenic 78 1967–2015 69%
20% of limit ↑ 237% above
Manganese 248 1951–2015 59%
40% of limit ↓ 33% below
Iron 278 1967–2015 70%
13% of limit ↓ 68% below
PFOA municipal 20 2023–2025 5%
152% of limit ~ typical
Sulfate 294 1932–2015 93%
2% of limit ↓ 21% below
Fluoride 236 1941–2015 96%
8% of limit ↑ 50% above
PFNA municipal 20 2023–2025 0%
— —
Chloride 256 1932–2015 100%
1% of limit ↓ 31% below
Chloride 256 1932–2015 100%
1% of limit ↓ 31% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 20 2023–2025 0%
— —
Nitrite 124 1970–2015 8%
1% of limit ~ typical
PFHxS municipal 20 2023–2025 5%
32% of limit ↓ 24% below
Radon 14 1991–2015 100%
18% of limit ~ typical
Uranium 3 1993–2015 33%
2% of limit ↑ 338% above
Hardness 240 1932–2015 100%
— ↑ 56% above
PFBS municipal 20 2023–2025 5%
— ↑ 42% above
pH 297 1951–2015 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 227 1932–2015 100%
— ↓ 52% 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 GA.

Compare your result with Lowndes County

Of the 78 arsenic tests on record for Lowndes County (1967–2015), 31% found none, and half were below 1.95 µg/L.

Of the 256 chloride tests on record for Lowndes County (1932–2015), 0% found none, and half were below 3.2 mg/L.

Of the 236 fluoride tests on record for Lowndes County (1941–2015), 4% found none, and half were below 300 µg/L.

Of the 278 iron tests on record for Lowndes County (1967–2015), 30% found none, and half were below 20 µg/L.

Of the 125 lead tests on record for Lowndes County (1967–2015), 98% found none.

Of the 248 manganese tests on record for Lowndes County (1951–2015), 41% found none, and half were below 10 µg/L.

Of the 133 nitrate tests on record for Lowndes County (1932–2015), 42% found none.

Of the 294 sulfate tests on record for Lowndes County (1932–2015), 7% found none, and half were below 3.15 mg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Arsenic 78 samples
  • Manganese 248 samples
  • Iron 278 samples
  • Sulfate 294 samples
  • Fluoride 236 samples
  • Chloride 256 samples
  • Chloride 256 samples
  • Nitrite 124 samples
  • Hardness 240 samples
  • pH 297 samples
  • Sodium 227 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Radon 14 samples
  • Uranium 3 samples

No private-well PFAS data for Lowndes County

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

78 Active public water systems
96,734 Residents on public water
21% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Lowndes 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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County Prevalence GA Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 5.4% 6.3% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 3.2% 3.6% 2020

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

Last updated: 2026-08-04

Full methodology →