Data & Methodology — Muskingum County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

281 well testing events on record, covering 22 analytes. Data spans 1963 to 2023.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. OH Avg
Manganese 272 1952–2019 99%
660% of limit ↑ 274% above
Iron 273 1952–2019 96%
250% of limit ↓ 43% below
Sulfate 175 1972–2019 100%
32% of limit ↓ 28% below
Arsenic 187 1976–2019 87%
10% of limit ↓ 37% below
Fluoride 206 1952–2019 91%
8% of limit ↓ 27% below
Lead 200 1972–2019 51%
0% of limit ↓ 100% below
Chloride 273 1952–2019 100%
11% of limit ↓ 26% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 8 2023–2024 0%
— —
Nitrate 24 1952–2019 96%
2% of limit ↓ 63% below
Nitrite 13 1973–2019 38%
1% of limit ↑ 57% above
PFHxS municipal 8 2023–2024 0%
— —
PFNA municipal 8 2023–2024 0%
— —
PFOA municipal 8 2023–2024 12%
100% of limit ↓ 26% below
PFOS municipal 8 2023–2024 0%
— —
Radon 1 2019 100%
100% of limit ↑ 352% above
Uranium 2 2016–2019 50%
1% of limit ↓ 55% below
E. coli 1 2019 0%
— —
Hardness 238 1952–2019 100%
— ↓ 28% below
PFBS municipal 8 2023–2024 25%
— ~ typical
pH 225 1952–2019 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 271 1952–2019 100%
— ↑ 28% above
Total Coliform 1 2019 0%
— —

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 OH.

Compare your result with Muskingum County

Of the 187 arsenic tests on record for Muskingum County (1976–2019), 13% found none, and half were below 1 µg/L.

Of the 273 chloride tests on record for Muskingum County (1952–2019), 0% found none, and half were below 28 mg/L.

Of the 206 fluoride tests on record for Muskingum County (1952–2019), 9% found none, and half were below 300 µg/L.

Of the 273 iron tests on record for Muskingum County (1952–2019), 4% found none, and half were below 662 µg/L.

Of the 200 lead tests on record for Muskingum County (1972–2019), 49% found none.

Of the 272 manganese tests on record for Muskingum County (1952–2019), 1% found none, and half were below 321 µg/L.

Of the 24 nitrate tests on record for Muskingum County (1952–2019), 4% found none, and half were below 160 µg/L.

Of the 175 sulfate tests on record for Muskingum County (1972–2019), 0% found none, and half were below 79 mg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Manganese 272 samples
  • Iron 273 samples
  • Sulfate 175 samples
  • Arsenic 187 samples
  • Fluoride 206 samples
  • Lead 200 samples
  • Chloride 273 samples
  • Nitrate 24 samples
  • Hardness 238 samples
  • pH 225 samples
  • Sodium 271 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Nitrite 13 samples
  • Radon 1 sample
  • Uranium 2 samples
  • E. coli 1 sample
  • Total Coliform 1 sample

No private-well PFAS data for Muskingum County

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

23 Active public water systems
70,931 Residents on public water
19% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Muskingum 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 Muskingum 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 Muskingum County Prevalence OH Average Source Year
Lead Heart disease rate 7.1% 7.6% 2020
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 7.4% 6.8% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 3.4% 3.1% 2020

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

Last updated: 2026-08-04

Full methodology →