Data & Methodology — Luzerne County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

322 well testing events on record, covering 22 analytes. Data spans 1901 to 2024.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. PA Avg
Radon 5 2022–2023 100%
683% of limit ↑ 428% above
Manganese 123 1965–2023 94%
1222% of limit ↑ 142% above
Iron 160 1930–2023 92%
767% of limit ↑ 32% above
Sulfate 133 1930–2023 100%
39% of limit ↑ 127% above
Arsenic 40 1972–2023 80%
50% of limit ↑ 71% above
PFOS municipal 411 2023–2025 37%
114% of limit ~ typical
PFOA municipal 414 2023–2025 28%
88% of limit ~ typical
Nitrate 79 1930–2023 76%
5% of limit ↓ 72% below
Lead 50 1965–2023 12%
5% of limit ~ typical
PFHxS municipal 58 2023–2025 7%
68% of limit ↑ 47% above
Chloride 95 1930–2023 100%
5% of limit ↓ 55% below
Fluoride 64 1965–2023 64%
2% of limit ↓ 44% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 358 2023–2025 0%
— —
Nitrite 51 1975–2023 10%
1% of limit ↓ 33% below
PFNA municipal 58 2023–2025 0%
— —
Uranium 15 1999–2023 53%
3% of limit ~ typical
E. coli 4 2007–2023 0%
— —
Hardness 125 1930–2023 100%
— ↓ 25% below
PFBS municipal 358 2023–2025 12%
— ↓ 44% below
pH 144 1955–2023 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 116 1930–2023 100%
— ↓ 52% below
Total Coliform 4 2007–2023 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 Luzerne County

Of the 40 arsenic tests on record for Luzerne County (1972–2023), 20% found none, and half were below 1.95 µg/L.

Of the 95 chloride tests on record for Luzerne County (1930–2023), 0% found none, and half were below 11.9 mg/L.

Of the 64 fluoride tests on record for Luzerne County (1965–2023), 36% found none.

Of the 160 iron tests on record for Luzerne County (1930–2023), 8% found none, and half were below 1.05 mg/L.

Of the 50 lead tests on record for Luzerne County (1965–2023), 88% found none.

Of the 123 manganese tests on record for Luzerne County (1965–2023), 6% found none, and half were below 290 µg/L.

Of the 79 nitrate tests on record for Luzerne County (1930–2023), 24% found none, and half were below 160 µg/L.

Of the 356 pfoa tests on record for Luzerne County (2025), 69% found none.

Of the 353 pfos tests on record for Luzerne County (2025), 61% found none.

Of the 133 sulfate tests on record for Luzerne County (1930–2023), 0% found none, and half were below 97 mg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Manganese 123 samples
  • Iron 160 samples
  • Sulfate 133 samples
  • Arsenic 40 samples
  • PFOS 411 samples
  • PFOA 414 samples
  • Nitrate 79 samples
  • Lead 50 samples
  • Chloride 95 samples
  • Fluoride 64 samples
  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 358 samples
  • Nitrite 51 samples
  • Uranium 15 samples
  • Hardness 125 samples
  • PFBS 358 samples
  • pH 144 samples
  • Sodium 116 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Radon 5 samples
  • E. coli 4 samples
  • Total Coliform 4 samples

Public vs. Private Water in Luzerne County

249 Active public water systems
324,513 Residents on public water
29% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Luzerne 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 Luzerne 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 Luzerne County Prevalence PA Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer incidence rate 507.5% 448.6% 2022
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 7.7% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 3.4% 3.0% 2020
Lead Heart disease rate 8.2% 7.2% 2020

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