Full contaminant data, sample history, and sourcing for Atlantic County. For readers who want to go beyond the summary.
Contaminant Data — All Analytes
3304 well testing events on record, covering
22 analytes.
Data spans 1915 to 2024.
Contaminant
Samples
Years
Detection Rate
Distribution LowModHigh
vs. Limit
vs. NJ Avg
Iron
425
1924–2023
88%
43% of limit
↓ 91% below
PFOA
municipal
85
2020–2025
21%
185% of limit
~ typical
Manganese
409
1956–2023
93%
36% of limit
↓ 92% below
PFOS
municipal
85
2020–2025
12%
162% of limit
~ typical
Nitrate
444
1932–2023
69%
4% of limit
↓ 85% below
Lead
278
1978–2023
52%
7% of limit
↓ 69% below
Chloride
3201
1924–2023
100%
3% of limit
↓ 90% below
Sulfate
493
1924–2023
98%
3% of limit
↓ 80% below
Arsenic
273
1978–2023
25%
3% of limit
↓ 80% below
Uranium
44
1988–2022
43%
0% of limit
↓ 97% below
Radon
36
1988–2012
100%
8% of limit
↓ 80% below
PFNA
municipal
84
2020–2025
0%
—
—
PFHxS
municipal
85
2020–2025
15%
51% of limit
~ typical
Nitrite
305
1973–2023
17%
1% of limit
↓ 41% below
HFPO-DA (GenX)
municipal
85
2020–2025
0%
—
—
Fluoride
363
1956–2023
38%
4% of limit
~ typical
PFBS
municipal
84
2020–2025
13%
—
~ typical
E. coli
10
2003–2022
37%
—
~ typical
Total Coliform
10
2003–2022
47%
—
~ typical
Sodium
440
1932–2023
100%
—
↓ 86% below
Hardness
490
1924–2023
100%
—
↓ 93% below
pH
741
1946–2023
100%
—
↓ 25% 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 NJ.
Compare your result with Atlantic County
Of the 273 arsenic tests on record for Atlantic County (1978–2023),
75% found none.
Of the 3201 chloride tests on record for Atlantic County (1924–2023),
0% found none, and half were below 7.1 mg/L.
Of the 363 fluoride tests on record for Atlantic County (1956–2023),
62% found none.
Of the 425 iron tests on record for Atlantic County (1924–2023),
12% found none, and half were below 94 µg/L.
Of the 278 lead tests on record for Atlantic County (1978–2023),
48% found none, and half were below 97.5 ng/L.
Of the 409 manganese tests on record for Atlantic County (1956–2023),
7% found none, and half were below 15.8 µg/L.
Of the 444 nitrate tests on record for Atlantic County (1932–2023),
31% found none, and half were below 110 µg/L.
Of the 493 sulfate tests on record for Atlantic County (1924–2023),
2% found none, and half were below 7.9 mg/L.
Of the 44 uranium tests on record for Atlantic County (1988–2022),
57% found none.
Data Coverage & Gaps
Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)
Iron 425 samples
PFOA 85 samples
Manganese 409 samples
PFOS 85 samples
Nitrate 444 samples
Lead 278 samples
Chloride 3201 samples
Sulfate 493 samples
Arsenic 273 samples
Uranium 44 samples
Radon 36 samples
PFNA 84 samples
PFHxS 85 samples
Nitrite 305 samples
HFPO-DA (GenX) 85 samples
Fluoride 363 samples
PFBS 84 samples
Sodium 440 samples
Hardness 490 samples
pH 741 samples
Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution
E. coli 10 samples
Total Coliform 10 samples
Public vs. Private Water in Atlantic County
195Active public water systems
452,348Residents on public water
25%Households on private wells
Public water systems in Atlantic 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 Atlantic 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 Atlantic 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 Atlantic County. Census data explorer →
USGS Aquifer Atlas — principal aquifer type underlying Atlantic 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 Atlantic County, used in contamination risk scoring. TRI Explorer →
EPA Superfund NPL — National Priorities List sites in or near Atlantic 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 NJ with at least one sample for that analyte.