Data & Methodology — Wabasha County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

217 well testing events on record, covering 19 analytes. Data spans 1960 to 2024.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. MN Avg
Iron 171 1960–2025 92%
51% of limit ↓ 93% below
Manganese 157 1960–2025 88%
51% of limit ↓ 90% below
PFOS municipal 10 2024–2025 20%
114% of limit ↓ 43% below
PFHxS municipal 9 2024–2025 11%
780% of limit ↑ 875% above
PFOA municipal 11 2024–2025 9%
350% of limit ~ typical
Lead 58 1973–2025 19%
4% of limit ↓ 91% below
Arsenic 51 1973–2025 31%
6% of limit ↓ 94% below
Nitrate 132 1960–2007 92%
8% of limit ↓ 65% below
Chloride 192 1960–2025 100%
2% of limit ↓ 70% below
Fluoride 123 1960–2025 92%
3% of limit ↓ 53% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 10 2024–2025 0%
— —
Nitrite 94 1974–2004 5%
0% of limit ↓ 95% below
PFNA municipal 10 2024–2025 0%
— —
Sulfate 160 1960–2025 99%
6% of limit ↓ 68% below
Uranium 1 1980 100%
4% of limit ~ typical
Hardness 16 1960–1980 100%
— ~ typical
PFBS municipal 8 2024–2025 0%
— —
pH 21 1960–2022 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 162 1960–2025 100%
— ↓ 90% 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 MN.

Compare your result with Wabasha County

Of the 51 arsenic tests on record for Wabasha County (1973–2025), 69% found none.

Of the 192 chloride tests on record for Wabasha County (1960–2025), 0% found none, and half were below 5.82 mg/L.

Of the 123 fluoride tests on record for Wabasha County (1960–2025), 8% found none, and half were below 120 µg/L.

Of the 171 iron tests on record for Wabasha County (1960–2025), 8% found none, and half were below 131 µg/L.

Of the 58 lead tests on record for Wabasha County (1973–2025), 81% found none.

Of the 157 manganese tests on record for Wabasha County (1960–2025), 12% found none, and half were below 20 µg/L.

Of the 132 nitrate tests on record for Wabasha County (1960–2007), 8% found none, and half were below 471 µg/L.

Of the 160 sulfate tests on record for Wabasha County (1960–2025), 1% found none, and half were below 14.8 mg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Iron 171 samples
  • Manganese 157 samples
  • Lead 58 samples
  • Arsenic 51 samples
  • Nitrate 132 samples
  • Chloride 192 samples
  • Fluoride 123 samples
  • Nitrite 94 samples
  • Sulfate 160 samples
  • Hardness 16 samples
  • pH 21 samples
  • Sodium 162 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • PFOS 10 samples
  • PFHxS 9 samples
  • PFOA 11 samples
  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 10 samples
  • PFNA 10 samples
  • Uranium 1 sample

Public vs. Private Water in Wabasha County

49 Active public water systems
17,333 Residents on public water
39% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Wabasha 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 Wabasha 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 Wabasha County Prevalence MN Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 6.1% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 3.2% 2.9% 2020
Lead Heart disease rate 7.7% 6.6% 2020

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

Last updated: 2026-08-04

Full methodology →