Data & Methodology — Wayne County

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

Contaminant Data — All Analytes

309 well testing events on record, covering 22 analytes. Data spans 1930 to 2024.

Contaminant Samples Years Detection Rate Distribution LowModHigh vs. Limit vs. PA Avg
Radon 131 2001–2022 100%
680% of limit ↑ 426% above
Iron 171 1930–2023 50%
16% of limit ↓ 97% below
Arsenic 166 2001–2023 78%
6% of limit ↓ 80% below
Manganese 168 1968–2023 67%
5% of limit ↓ 99% below
PFOS municipal 288 2023–2025 14%
72% of limit ↓ 44% below
PFOA municipal 288 2023–2025 12%
72% of limit ↓ 23% below
Chloride 175 1930–2023 100%
2% of limit ↓ 85% below
Fluoride 167 1968–2023 88%
2% of limit ↓ 66% below
HFPO-DA (GenX) municipal 265 2023–2025 0%
— —
Lead 150 2001–2023 79%
1% of limit ↓ 69% below
Nitrate 175 1930–2023 88%
5% of limit ↓ 70% below
Nitrite 168 1993–2023 8%
0% of limit ↓ 87% below
PFHxS municipal 18 2023 0%
— —
PFNA municipal 18 2023 0%
— —
Sulfate 176 1930–2023 100%
3% of limit ↓ 83% below
Uranium 145 2001–2022 92%
2% of limit ~ typical
pH 174 1968–2023 100%
— ~ typical
Sodium 170 1930–2023 99%
— ↓ 56% below
Total Coliform 4 1998–2022 29%
— ~ typical
E. coli 4 1998–2022 9%
— ~ typical
Hardness 174 1930–2023 99%
— ↓ 53% below
PFBS municipal 265 2023–2025 8%
— ↓ 42% 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 PA.

Compare your result with Wayne County

Of the 166 arsenic tests on record for Wayne County (2001–2023), 22% found none, and half were below 0.385 µg/L.

Of the 175 chloride tests on record for Wayne County (1930–2023), 0% found none, and half were below 4 mg/L.

Of the 167 fluoride tests on record for Wayne County (1968–2023), 12% found none, and half were below 60 µg/L.

Of the 171 iron tests on record for Wayne County (1930–2023), 50% found none, and half were below 4 µg/L.

Of the 150 lead tests on record for Wayne County (2001–2023), 21% found none, and half were below 0.161 µg/L.

Of the 168 manganese tests on record for Wayne County (1968–2023), 33% found none, and half were below 0.805 µg/L.

Of the 175 nitrate tests on record for Wayne County (1930–2023), 12% found none, and half were below 470 µg/L.

Of the 270 pfoa tests on record for Wayne County (2025), 87% found none.

Of the 270 pfos tests on record for Wayne County (2025), 86% found none.

Of the 176 sulfate tests on record for Wayne County (1930–2023), 0% found none, and half were below 7.49 mg/L.

Of the 145 uranium tests on record for Wayne County (2001–2022), 8% found none, and half were below 0.436 µg/L.

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Data Coverage & Gaps

Well-sampled analytes (15+ samples)

  • Radon 131 samples
  • Iron 171 samples
  • Arsenic 166 samples
  • Manganese 168 samples
  • PFOS 288 samples
  • PFOA 288 samples
  • Chloride 175 samples
  • Fluoride 167 samples
  • HFPO-DA (GenX) 265 samples
  • Lead 150 samples
  • Nitrate 175 samples
  • Nitrite 168 samples
  • Sulfate 176 samples
  • Uranium 145 samples
  • pH 174 samples
  • Sodium 170 samples
  • Hardness 174 samples
  • PFBS 265 samples

Limited data (<15 samples) — interpret with caution

  • Total Coliform 4 samples
  • E. coli 4 samples

Public vs. Private Water in Wayne County

225 Active public water systems
54,709 Residents on public water
59% Households on private wells

Public water systems in Wayne 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County Prevalence PA Average Source Year
Arsenic Cancer incidence rate 419.8% 448.6% 2022
Arsenic Cancer prevalence 8.5% 7.0% 2020
Arsenic Kidney disease rate 3.5% 3.0% 2020

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