Data & Methodology — Lebanon County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

316 well testing events on record, covering 22 analytes. Data spans 1925 to 2025.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. PA Avg
Radon 28 1993–2021 100%
28% of limit ↓ 78% below
Manganese 185 1959–2023 87%
40% of limit ↓ 92% below
Iron 196 1925–2023 87%
30% of limit ↓ 95% below
Nitrate 209 1925–2023 97%
44% of limit ↑ 148% above
PFOS municipal 123 2024–2025 19%
118% of limit ~ typical
PFOA municipal 123 2024–2025 20%
83% of limit ~ typical
Lead 109 1981–2023 6%
2% of limit ↓ 52% below
Arsenic 118 1973–2023 88%
15% of limit ↓ 50% below
Chloride 192 1925–2023 100%
4% of limit ↓ 63% below
Fluoride 181 1959–2023 73%
2% of limit ↓ 44% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 109 2024–2025 0%
— —
Nitrite 138 1973–2023 10%
1% of limit ↓ 33% below
PFHxS municipal 10 2024–2025 0%
— —
PFNA municipal 10 2024–2025 0%
— —
Sulfate 195 1925–2023 97%
9% of limit ↓ 49% below
Uranium 29 1993–2022 72%
2% of limit ↓ 32% below
E. coli 2 1995–2022 23%
— ~ typical
Hardness 193 1925–2023 99%
— ↑ 49% above
PFBS municipal 109 2024–2025 28%
— ↓ 25% below
pH 235 1959–2024 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 187 1925–2023 100%
— ↓ 56% below
Total Coliform 2 1993–2022 42%
— ~ typical

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 Lebanon County

Of the 118 arsenic tests on record for Lebanon County (1973–2023), 12% found none, and half were below 1 µg/L.

Of the 192 chloride tests on record for Lebanon County (1925–2023), 0% found none, and half were below 10 mg/L.

Of the 181 fluoride tests on record for Lebanon County (1959–2023), 27% found none, and half were below 100 µg/L.

Of the 196 iron tests on record for Lebanon County (1925–2023), 13% found none, and half were below 70 µg/L.

Of the 109 lead tests on record for Lebanon County (1981–2023), 94% found none.

Of the 185 manganese tests on record for Lebanon County (1959–2023), 13% found none, and half were below 10 µg/L.

Of the 209 nitrate tests on record for Lebanon County (1925–2023), 3% found none, and half were below 4.21 mg/L.

Of the 113 pfoa tests on record for Lebanon County (2025), 79% found none.

Of the 113 pfos tests on record for Lebanon County (2025), 80% found none.

Of the 195 sulfate tests on record for Lebanon County (1925–2023), 3% found none, and half were below 22 mg/L.

Of the 29 uranium tests on record for Lebanon County (1993–2022), 28% found none, and half were below 0.45 µg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Radon 28 samples
  • Manganese 185 samples
  • Iron 196 samples
  • Nitrate 209 samples
  • PFOS 123 samples
  • PFOA 123 samples
  • Lead 109 samples
  • Arsenic 118 samples
  • Chloride 192 samples
  • Fluoride 181 samples
  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 109 samples
  • Nitrite 138 samples
  • Sulfate 195 samples
  • Uranium 29 samples
  • Hardness 193 samples
  • PFBS 109 samples
  • pH 235 samples
  • Sodium 187 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • E. coli 2 samples
  • Total Coliform 2 samples

Public vs. Private Water in Lebanon County

109 Active public water systems
101,430 Residents on public water
42% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Lebanon 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 Lebanon 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 Lebanon County Prevalence PA Average Source Year
Lead Heart disease rate 8.0% 7.2% 2020
Arsenic Cancer incidence rate 436.9% 448.6% 2022
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 5.9% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 2.6% 3.0% 2020

Source: CDC PLACES county-level estimates. Raw data: Download Lebanon 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 →