Your well water in Menominee County comes from mixed rock layers underground that hold water in their cracks and spaces. These rocks are not limestone or sandstone, but a jumble of different stone types left behind from old glaciers and weathering. Water fills the gaps between these rocks and becomes your well's source.
Radon seeps into your groundwater naturally from radioactive minerals in the bedrock. Iron and manganese dissolve out of the rock itself as water sits underground and moves slowly through it. Your well's depth and the rock type it taps control how much of these elements end up in your water.
Your water is extremely hard and loaded with minerals. You have very high sodium and sulfate levels along with the iron and manganese. This means scale will build up fast inside your pipes, and you will need treatment to protect your plumbing and your health.
Radon, iron, and manganese all exceed EPA health standards in Menominee County well water. Radon is a radioactive gas that dissolves in groundwater and poses a cancer risk when you drink the water or breathe vapors from it. Iron and manganese are metals that build up in your body over years and can cause serious health problems.
Long-term exposure to radon increases your cancer risk. Manganese harms how children's brains develop and can affect adults' nervous systems over time. Iron causes orange or rust-colored stains on sinks, toilets, and laundry. Your water also has extremely high hardness and sodium levels, which means thick white scale builds up on pipes and fixtures, and the water tastes salty.
Get your well tested through a state-certified lab right away. A basic screen for bacteria and nitrate runs fifty to one hundred dollars, but you need a full metals and minerals panel for three to four hundred dollars to confirm these results. Treatment options like aeration systems for radon, water softeners for hardness, and special filters for iron and manganese can address these problems together.
| Contaminant | Samples ⓘ | % Above MCL ⓘ | Distribution ⓘ | Confidence ⓘ | Risk ⓘ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radon | 12 | 50% | 42% · 8% · 50% | Low | High ⓘ |
| Iron | 46 | 49% | 35% · 17% · 48% | Moderate | High |
| Manganese | 19 | 21% | 53% · 26% · 21% | Moderate | High |
| Arsenic | 11 | 0% | 91% · 9% · 0% | Low | Low |
| Uranium | 14 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Low | Low |
| Chloride | 55 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Moderate | Low |
| Sulfate | 8 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Low | Low |
| Fluoride | 13 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Low | Low |
| Lead | 38 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Moderate | Low |
| Nitrite | 9 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Low | Low |
| E. coli | 1 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Low | Safe |
| Hardness | 19 | — | — | Moderate | Low |
| Nitrate | 39 | — | — | Moderate | Low |
| Total Coliform | 1 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Low | Safe |
| Nitrate | 1 | 0% | 100% · 0% · 0% | Low | Safe |
| pH | 9 | — | — | Low | Low |
| Sodium | 68 | — | — | Moderate | Low |
MCL = Maximum Contaminant Level (EPA limit for public water; used as benchmark for private wells). Distribution shows % of sampled wells in each concentration band. Methodology.
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