Scott County, Minnesota: drinking water report. Scott County south of the Twin Cities has about 150,000 residents in rapidly growing communities like…
Scott County south of the Twin Cities has about 150,000 residents in rapidly growing communities like Shakopee, Prior Lake, and Savage. Most water comes from deep groundwater wells tapping the Prairie du Chien and Jordan aquifer systems. The county's transition from agricultural to suburban land use is happening fast, and both legacy farm contamination and new development pressures affect groundwater quality.
Nitrate from decades of agricultural activity persists in the shallow aquifer beneath Scott County. According to the Minnesota Department of Health's 2024 well water testing data, 11% of private wells in the county showed nitrate above 5 mg/L, with a handful exceeding the 10 mg/L MCL. The deeper confined aquifers that serve municipal wells are better protected but not immune to contamination migration over time.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community operates Mystic Lake Casino and associated facilities in the county, and the Prior Lake-Spring Lake watershed has documented elevated phosphorus. PFAS from the Canterbury Park area and regional stormwater infiltration have been detected at 6 ppt in monitoring wells. The contamination is lower than neighboring Washington County but detectable.
Scott County's rapid suburban growth means water infrastructure is expanding quickly. If you are in a newer development on a municipal well, the system likely meets all standards. If you are on an older private well, testing for nitrate is a baseline priority.
Check your water for data at your address. For private well owners, reverse osmosis handles both nitrate and PFAS in a single system. Our water filter guide covers options appropriate for Minnesota groundwater. Pull your detailed report for trends, and visit our Minnesota page for statewide context.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Scott County, MN.
The EPA places Scott County, MN in Zone 1 - the EPA's highest-risk category, where the predicted average indoor radon level is above 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
23% of homes in Scott County, MN were built before 1980, and 6% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Scott County, MN averages 6.6 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide