Full contaminant data, sample history, and sourcing for Faribault County. For readers who want to go beyond the summary.
Contaminant Data — All Analytes
61 well testing events on record, covering
20 analytes.
Data spans 1956 to 2024.
Contaminant
Samples
Years
Detection Rate
Distribution LowModHigh
vs. Limit
vs. MN Avg
Iron
45
1960–2025
100%
760% of limit
~ typical
Manganese
40
1960–2025
100%
303% of limit
↓ 38% below
PFHxS
municipal
3
2025
33%
1100% of limit
↑ 1275% above
Sulfate
43
1960–2025
100%
10% of limit
↓ 46% below
PFOA
municipal
5
2024–2025
20%
5500% of limit
↑ 1179% above
PFOS
municipal
5
2024–2025
20%
7750% of limit
↑ 3756% above
Arsenic
33
1980–2025
97%
85% of limit
~ typical
Nitrate
20
1960–2014
95%
1% of limit
↓ 97% below
Chloride
47
1960–2025
100%
5% of limit
↓ 41% below
Fluoride
30
1960–2025
97%
8% of limit
~ typical
HFPO-DA (GenX)
municipal
4
2024–2025
0%
—
—
Lead
33
1980–2025
12%
1% of limit
↓ 99% below
Nitrite
2
1980–2014
100%
0% of limit
↓ 92% below
PFNA
municipal
4
2024–2025
0%
—
—
Radon
1
2014
100%
51% of limit
~ typical
Uranium
8
1980–2014
62%
4% of limit
~ typical
Sodium
41
1960–2025
100%
—
~ typical
pH
19
1960–2014
100%
—
~ typical
PFBS
municipal
3
2025
33%
—
↓ 25% below
Hardness
18
1960–2014
100%
—
↑ 63% above
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 MN.
Compare your result with Faribault County
Of the 33 arsenic tests on record for Faribault County (1980–2025),
3% found none, and half were below 8.43 µg/L.
Of the 47 chloride tests on record for Faribault County (1960–2025),
0% found none, and half were below 11.4 mg/L.
Of the 30 fluoride tests on record for Faribault County (1960–2025),
3% found none, and half were below 305 µg/L.
Of the 45 iron tests on record for Faribault County (1960–2025),
0% found none, and half were below 2.28 mg/L.
Of the 33 lead tests on record for Faribault County (1980–2025),
88% found none.
Of the 40 manganese tests on record for Faribault County (1960–2025),
0% found none, and half were below 151 µg/L.
Of the 20 nitrate tests on record for Faribault County (1960–2014),
5% found none, and half were below 60 µg/L.
Of the 43 sulfate tests on record for Faribault County (1960–2025),
0% found none, and half were below 25.4 mg/L.
Data Coverage & Gaps
Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)
Iron 45 samples
Manganese 40 samples
Sulfate 43 samples
Arsenic 33 samples
Nitrate 20 samples
Chloride 47 samples
Fluoride 30 samples
Lead 33 samples
Sodium 41 samples
pH 19 samples
Hardness 18 samples
Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution
PFHxS 3 samples
PFOA 5 samples
PFOS 5 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX) 4 samples
Nitrite 2 samples
PFNA 4 samples
Radon 1 sample
Uranium 8 samples
PFBS 3 samples
Public vs. Private Water in Faribault County
27Active public water systems
10,966Residents on public water
30%Households on private wells
Public water systems in Faribault 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 Faribault 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.
This report aggregates data from the following public databases:
Water Quality Portal (WQP) — groundwater sample results for Faribault 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 Faribault County. Census data explorer →
USGS Aquifer Atlas — principal aquifer type underlying Faribault 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 Faribault County, used in contamination risk scoring. TRI Explorer →
EPA Superfund NPL — National Priorities List sites in or near Faribault 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 MN with at least one sample for that analyte.