Arsenic Concentrations in Private Bedrock Wells in Southeastern New Hampshire

The quality of drinking water obtained from private wells in New Hampshire is not regulated; consequently, private wells are often not sampled for arsenic unless individual well owners choose to do so. To provide private well owners and Federal and State environmental and health officials with accurate information on arsenic concentrations from private wells in this region, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted an arsenic occurrence and distribution study, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA New England), New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), New Hampshire Estuaries Project, and with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS). This report describes the results of this study to determine the range of arsenic concentrations from ground water in the three counties of southeastern New Hampshire by analyzing water samples collected by a randomly selected group of well owners from this area