If you notice the presence of radon in your water supply, deciding how much treatment you need depends on your household's daily water use and understanding what local data can tell you.
If you want to compare treatment capacity to your daily water demand
Government monitoring of Clark County’s aquifer N400BSNRGC shows radon-222 measurements from three wells ranged between 245.0 and 370.0 pCi/L, with a median of 275.0 pCi/L. While these samples offer insight into regional radon levels, your household's water consumption determines how much capacity your radon water filter should have.
- Estimate your daily water use in gallons to match it against the recommended flow rate and capacity of a treatment system.
- A system too small for your usage may fail to treat all water effectively, reducing protection.
- Conversely, oversizing adds unnecessary complexity and cost.
If you need to interpret public water system records versus private well tests
The radon data from Clark County come from three separate wells sampled over 18 months between 2013 and 2015. These wells varied in depth from 291 to 1050 feet. This regional data reflects conditions in the aquifer but not in any one household’s supply.
- Public-system records provide a useful benchmark for what may be present regionally but do not replace testing your own water source.
- Private well owners must conduct their own radon testing to determine exact concentrations specific to their source.
- Detected radon was below federal thresholds in all regional samples, but individual wells can differ.
If radon in water is left untreated over years
Chronic exposure to radon in water can contribute to increased risk of certain health conditions due to radioactive decay products released during water use.
- Radon can enter indoor air during showering, cooking, and other water uses, potentially raising indoor radon levels.
- Long-term inhalation exposure to radon and its decay products is a recognized health concern.
- Treatment of radon in water reduces the source and lowers risk, complementing any air-focused mitigation.
If you want to understand how aesthetic secondary standards differ from health-based limits for radon
Radon radon-222 concentration in water is subject primarily to health-based federal guidelines rather than aesthetic secondary standards, which address factors like taste, odor, or staining.
- The Clark County aquifer data include no exceedances of federal radon thresholds.
- Radon does not affect water taste, odor, or appearance and is not subject to typical aesthetic limits.
- Water treatment decisions should focus on health-based guidelines and your household’s measured radon levels.
If you want to distinguish radon from commonly confused water problems
Radon in water should not be confused with other issues such as iron staining or water hardness, which affect appearance and taste but are chemically and operationally distinct.
- Radon is a radioactive gas introduced to water primarily from natural geologic sources.
- Iron and hardness problems stem from mineral content and cause visible staining or scaling, unlike radon.
- Addressing radon requires specialized filtration systems designed to reduce radioactive gases, not typical water softeners or iron filters.
For households in Clark County with measured daily water usage, the Pentair Radon in Water Filter offers a proven solution. This system ships ready to configure and matches treatment capacity to your calculated demand, reducing radon levels reliably based on your own water testing.
Where this information comes from
Source: USGS groundwater sampling. Sampled 2015-03-26. These figures describe groundwater sampled in this area. They are not a test of any individual private well - only a test of that well can establish its own water.
On record: U.S. Geological Survey sampling of Radon-222 in the N400BSNRGC aquifer (Clark County): 3 results from 3 wells, median 275.0 pCi/L, range 245.0-370.0 pCi/L; none above any federal threshold