Data & Methodology — Carbon County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

155 well testing events on record, covering 22 analytes. Data spans 1926 to 2025.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. PA Avg
PFNA municipal 12 2024–2025 17%
185% of limit ↑ 176% above
Radon 6 2000–2023 100%
20% of limit ↓ 84% below
Manganese 37 1969–2023 95%
26% of limit ↓ 95% below
Iron 36 1969–2023 44%
48% of limit ↓ 92% below
PFOA municipal 192 2024–2025 24%
96% of limit ~ typical
Sulfate 38 1965–2023 63%
0% of limit ↓ 98% below
PFOS municipal 192 2024–2025 28%
70% of limit ↓ 45% below
PFHxS municipal 12 2024–2025 17%
98% of limit ↑ 112% above
Nitrate 33 1969–2023 94%
1% of limit ↓ 92% below
Arsenic 33 1999–2023 15%
7% of limit ↓ 75% below
Chloride 33 1969–2023 100%
14% of limit ↑ 27% above
Fluoride 32 1969–2023 28%
1% of limit ↓ 83% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 153 2024–2025 0%
— —
Lead 33 1999–2023 30%
1% of limit ↓ 80% below
Nitrite 31 1991–2023 6%
1% of limit ↓ 63% below
Uranium 19 1999–2023 21%
3% of limit ↑ 33% above
Total Coliform 1 2000–2023 0%
— —
Sodium 37 1969–2023 100%
— ↓ 32% below
pH 46 1965–2024 100%
— ↓ 32% below
PFBS municipal 153 2024–2025 14%
— ↓ 44% below
Hardness 37 1969–2023 100%
— ↓ 87% below
E. coli 1 2000–2023 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 PA.

Compare your result with Carbon County

Of the 33 arsenic tests on record for Carbon County (1999–2023), 85% found none.

Of the 33 chloride tests on record for Carbon County (1969–2023), 0% found none, and half were below 34 mg/L.

Of the 32 fluoride tests on record for Carbon County (1969–2023), 72% found none.

Of the 36 iron tests on record for Carbon County (1969–2023), 56% found none.

Of the 33 lead tests on record for Carbon County (1999–2023), 70% found none.

Of the 37 manganese tests on record for Carbon County (1969–2023), 5% found none, and half were below 12.9 µg/L.

Of the 33 nitrate tests on record for Carbon County (1969–2023), 6% found none, and half were below 134 µg/L.

Of the 180 pfoa tests on record for Carbon County (2025), 75% found none.

Of the 180 pfos tests on record for Carbon County (2025), 71% found none.

Of the 38 sulfate tests on record for Carbon County (1965–2023), 37% found none, and half were below 270 µg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Manganese 37 samples
  • Iron 36 samples
  • PFOA 192 samples
  • Sulfate 38 samples
  • PFOS 192 samples
  • Nitrate 33 samples
  • Arsenic 33 samples
  • Chloride 33 samples
  • Fluoride 32 samples
  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 153 samples
  • Lead 33 samples
  • Nitrite 31 samples
  • Uranium 19 samples
  • Sodium 37 samples
  • pH 46 samples
  • PFBS 153 samples
  • Hardness 37 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Radon 6 samples
  • Total Coliform 1 sample
  • E. coli 1 sample

Public vs. Private Water in Carbon County

162 Active public water systems
69,125 Residents on public water
43% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Carbon 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 Carbon 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 Carbon County Prevalence PA Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer incidence rate 500.6% 448.6% 2022
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 6.1% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 2.6% 3.0% 2020
Lead Heart disease rate 8.6% 7.2% 2020

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

Last updated: 2026-08-04

Full methodology →